Passive Aggression
by DragonScouter
Summary: Dunce is fearful of upsetting others and doesn't retaliate when violence is done against him. But, when he travels to Earth with Sentinel Prime, Blurr, and Jazz, he has a few chance encounters with a mech that would seem to be his only hope of rising above his fear and standing up for himself. But, can he bring himself to trust a Decepticon?
1. An Unusual Solar Cycle

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

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**Authoress: New story!...And this takes place after season three.**

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Ch. 1: An Unusual Solar Cycle

Everything was going insane.

That was how I felt when I glanced around from my place on the Steelhaven. A few cycles ago, my life had been going normally. Sentinel was yelling at me to go and get his energon and I was doing so without hesitation and with utmost speed. From past beatings, I knew that Sentinel did not like bots to take longer than they should and I would not suffer more beatings then I deserved.

My normal day had then ended. Right when I had given Sentinel his energon, an explosion had shook Fortress Maximus and the two of us had ran outside. I could only stare in shock at the sight before me. Trypticon prison was smoking and flaming. It was impossible, but yet, it was happening. The Decepticons were being broke out of prison. Megatron and all those who followed his evil ways were now escaping.

It had been two stellar cycles since the warlord had been captured by Optimus Prime and his team on Earth. Since then, things had started to return to normal. Ultra Magnus had healed nicely and had taken back over as Magnus from Sentinel. Prowl, the cyber-ninja who had sacrificed his spark to save the human city of Detroit, had miraculously come back from the well and was back on Earth. Jazz had ended up rejoining Sentinel's team after a few months and, while the white cyber-ninja would most rather be on Earth right now with Prowl, I was sure glad that he was here. He made having to work as Sentinel's 'personal errand bot' so much easier to handle.

Sentinel had snapped me out of my shock by yelling at me to get to the ship. I didn't hesitate and ran to the Steelhaven where, to my surprise, Blurr had been. He had been found as a cube of metal, his spark barely beating, after Megatron had been tried and placed in Trypticon. The Autobot Elite Medical Staff had quickly set about repairing the intelligence bot and now Blurr was thinking about joining Sentinel's team, though why anybot would _want_ to be on Sentinel's team was beyond him.

Now, we had been out in space for three cycles and nothing good had come so far. Sentinel has been high strung and that can never lead to anything good.

"Dunce! Stop standing around and actually do something useful! Go and check the status of our energon rations and get me a cube while you are at it." Sentinel ordered him. "Now!"

I flinched at the intensity of the yell before immediately nodding and saying, "Yes sir Sentinel Prime sir." before running out the doors of the bridge.

As I ran toward the energon storage compartment, I shuddered. I would have to move quickly if I wanted to avoid another beating from Sentinel. I was just finishing up recovering from the last one where I had accidentally tripped, causing Sentinel to fall as well. I couldn't stop myself from chuckling and, well...he had shown me his displeasure about it later. The welds were still healing on my shoulder from his displeasure and I did not want any more anytime soon.

Once the doors opened, I walked inside and counted up the energon cubes in storage before comparing them to the log. When they matched up, I took one cube off of the log and then grabbed one before hurrying back out of the storage area and racing to the bridge. I needed to make sure that I got back before Sentinel got too impatient. If that happened...I shuddered to think about the consequences.

When I finally entered the bridge, I went straight to Sentinel and handed him the cube. "What took you so long? I could have gotten the entire crew their energon in the time you took!" Sentinel chastised him before taking the cube and turning back to the front.

"Sorry Sentinel Prime sir." I apologized before stepping back toward my seat.

In return, Sentinel huffed before standing up and saying, "I'm going to my quarters. Don't disturb me with anything unimportant."

I watched as he walked out of the room. As soon as he left the room, I felt an immense weight fall off of my shoulders. I could not help but crack a small smile of relief at the feeling of being free from him, even for a small while.

"Hey Dunce, want to come sit over here?"

I turned to Jazz, who was also on board, before nodding and walking over. While most other Cybertronians on Cybertron treated me like scrap and a waste of space, Jazz was one of the few ones who treated me like a bot...like a friend. "Hey Jazz, you've been to this 'Earth. What's it like?" I asked the ninja next to me.

A laugh came from Jazz before he said, "It's a cool place Dunce. I'll be the first to admit that I was scared of the 'deadly' organics that we have all heard about but they are actually a lot like us...and they aren't deadly. Plus, they make some pretty sweet alt modes." He answered before smiling. "When we land, we'll have to get you a good one."

I nodded but didn't think much on getting an Earth alt mode. I was highly doubtful that Sentinel was going to allow me to receive an alt mode. So, I put on a smile and played like I might get one. "Sounds like fun Jazz." A sigh then escaped my vocals. Just talking about fun was setting myself up for disappointment.

When a nudge caused me to lean to the side, I looked at Jazz and immediately noticed the look of worry that was on his faceplate. I had seen that look on his faceplate before. It usually came right before, "Dunce, why do you let him push you around like that? You have him in size. If you wanted to, you could make sure that he stops."

And there it was. This subject seemed to be the one that caused one of the only problems between Jazz and I. With every time that Jazz was around when Sentinel did this, it was brought up. Like every time it was, my answer was the same, "Jazz, I do not like fights. Plus, I have no formal training, like Sentinel has. Even if I wanted to fight, I couldn't beat him. I can survive." But, what I never told Jazz was that Sentinel scared me. While I was taller, he had experience and that meant he knew how to fight.

Jazz frowned at me and I could see that he wanted to talk more. Thankfully, Blurr interrupted from the other side of the room. "Coming up to the space bridge now. Coordinates are set." Of course, he was talking in his usual way but I had learned how to listen and so Blurr's talk came out normal to me. Plus, I was glad for the interruption.

Standing up, I motioned to the door. "Should I go and tell Sentinel about our arrival?" I didn't want to give Sentinel any reason to get angry with me.

But, Jazz shook his helm. "Nah, S.P. said not to bother him. He'll find out when he wakes up."

Nervousness crept up inside my systems when I nodded in agreement. Not telling Sentinel was risky and I could get into trouble if he did not like not being told. I found myself sending a silent prayer to whatever could help me if Sentinel woke up not happy.

A bright blue light in front of us drew me away from my thoughts of an angered Sentinel and I stared in amazement. So this was what going through a space bridge looked like? I was amazed. Thinking that ball of energy could transport our entire ship to another in space. Speaking of our destination... "Jazz, what space bridge are we arriving at? The one on Earth?" I asked him.

He smiled when he turned to me. "Nah, the humans, the dominant species on Earth, would freak out if we suddenly came through the space bridge with our ship unless they had seven solar cycles notice at the very least. Thankfully, we have set one up by the planet Mars and it won't take us long from there to get to Earth."

Nodding, I watched as out ship entered the space bridge. I was so excited for this, since this was my first time actually going through a space bridge...actually...this was my first time off of Cybertron. They really didn't let me out a lot. Shock traveled through my systems as we traveled through the light and a strange sensation washed over me. It was causing my circuits to believe that I was floating on the clouds that Jazz told me Earth had. "Wow, did you feel that Jazz?" I asked him as we exited the space bridge and came out next to a red planet. That must be Mars. From what Jazz had told me, Earth was blue and green.

He looked at me in shock and asked, "You've never been through a space bridge before?"

I shook my helm and said, "Never. That was the first time. I was never allowed to leave the planet."

"This is your first time off world?" Jazz asked me in a louder voice.

Flinching at his loudness, I was about to answer when the doors opened and Sentinel walked inside. Immediate instinct caused me to step a few paces away from him. He didn't look too happy. But, he didn't say a word as he looked at the G.P.S., that is the Galactic Positioning System, before he frowned. "Why was I not told that we were entering a space bridge?"

He then turned to glare at me and I could stare in shock. I couldn't answer him without getting into trouble and that glare meant that I was going to get in trouble no matter what I said. It took all I had to hold back the gulp that was threatening to escape my vocals.

Thankfully, Jazz had my back plates...because I certainly didn't have them. "You told us not to disturb you unless you said to." Jazz reminded the Prime.

Sentinel turned to glare at Jazz but must have decided against saying anything to the ninja. "Oh, whatever. We are here anyways. Prepare the ship for landing. Jazz, call the Earth team and tell them we are on approach."

I gulped when I saw Sentinel flash me a glare. In my processor I knew that, as soon as Jazz stepped out of the room to make that call, I was in trouble. Quickly, I sent Jazz a glance, asking him to stay. Unfortunately, Jazz didn't see my glance for him to stay as he nodded and walked out of the room.

Gulping silently in fear, turned to Sentinel. But, when I turned, I felt a fist slam into my faceplate. "Next time we enter a space bridge, do not keep the information from me." Sentinel growled at me.

The pain was traveling up my faceplate from the hit and I nodded quickly, fearing another hit. "I'm sorry Sentinel Prime sir. I won't let it happen again sir." My faceplate was stinging from the punch but I didn't move to rub it. I had also learned quite quickly that Sentinel did not like it when I babied my scrapes from him while he was looking

Sentinel just shook his helm and walked off. "Idiot." I heard Sentinel whisper as he took the command seat.

When the doors opened and Jazz walked through, said ninja shot me a worried look but I shook my helm and walked to the viewing area so that I could see Earth. Hopefully, Sentinel wouldn't order me to move before I got a glance at Earth. Jazz had told me a few stories about the organic planet and his time there and I was excited to see it with my own optics.

When the small blue and green marble appeared before me, I stared in amazement. It was more wonderful than Jazz had described it. The planet seemed to just glow of beauty and radiate a peaceful calm. If only I could just live this moment out for the rest of my existence, I would be happy. When we finally got to the planet and entered the skies below, I was shocked to see so much life, and diversity. Everything was different and yet it flowed like a flawless finish.

"Pretty ain't it?" Jazz asked me as he stood next to me.

I just nodded, too shocked for words. We continued to stare out the window as the ship grew closer and closer to the landing site. It was pretty amazing that everything looked so, small. I was used to Iacon and the large cities there and these small buildings added to the wonder of my being on another planet, a whole new world.

"Whoa!" I exclaimed as the ship landed. Landing was new to me and it was a strange experience.

"Landing's can be a little unstable your first time. You'll get used to it." Jazz said with a smile.

I smiled and nodded before following behind Sentinel and Jazz off of the ship. My chassis was almost shaking in excite from my anticipation of catching my first glimpse of Earth from the outside of the ship. I knew that it was going to be amazing.

**Jazz's 3rd P.O.V**

Jazz sighed as he walked down the gangplank. Dunce was hiding something. He knew that Sentinel, and most bots on Cybertron, treated Dunce poorly but the black car mech with red hips and red markings on his black helm never complained. He just took their abuse. While the black did a great job at hiding the dents, the mech's white faceplate and blue visor told another story. Jazz was good at reading bots and it didn't take much for him to guess that the car mech was in pain. Hopefully the bots on Earth would treat him different. They were always a different bunch and Jazz was sure that they would like Dunce. Maybe, they would let him stay here so he wouldn't have to be with Sentinel.

When Jazz saw Prowl, he smiled before walking up to his fellow ninja bot. "Prowl, how has your training been going?"

"It is improving." Prowl answered in his usual way. "Who is that?"

Jazz turned and saw that he was pointing to Dunce and he said, "That's my friend Dunce. Hey Dunce, come here and,"

But, before Jazz could finish calling him over, Sentinel said, "Dunce, go inside and get our things, now!"

Dunce nodded and said, "Yes sir." He then ran inside.

"He seems nervous." Prowl stated, talking about Dunce.

Jazz nodded. "Yeah, most bots on Cybertron yell at him like that and Dunce is a pacifist so he takes it without complaint."

"Why?" Prowl asked, seemingly surprised.

Jazz sighed. "They all think he is an idiot and can't do anything. Ultra Magnus even pulled him out of boot camp on the first day just to be Sentinel's messenger bot. Sentinel is the worst out of them all. He yells at Dunce for everything and I am sure that he hits him, but Dunce won't talk to me about it." He then leaned in closer to his friend's audio receptor, "I think he is scared of Sentinel and what he would do if Dunce told."

Prowl only let his shock show on his faceplates for a second, but that second told Jazz that Prowl understood the problem that Dunce had. "I'll tell Optimus."

Jazz couldn't let him do that and pulled his friend back to him. "Don't. Dunce doesn't want anyone confronting Sentinel about this. He is afraid. Just keep this too yourself and help Dunce out when you can. Please Prowl."

Prowl stared at him for the longest time before nodding. "Fine."

The two then walked over to the others. Jazz could tell that Sentinel was already getting on Optimus' nerves and he knew that he had to cool the situation down. "Hey mechs, let's get over to the warehouse so we can relax." The two Primes stared at him before nodding and transforming. It was then that he realized that Dunce didn't have an alt. mode. "Hey Dunce,"

But, once again, Sentinel cut in. "Dunce, stay here on the ship until we return."

"Yes sir." Dunce responded dutifully but Jazz could see the rejection in his visor. Dunce had really wanted to explore the planet and Sentinel was being an aft.

"Hey Dunce, I want to show Prowl here some stuff I brought back from Cybertron. Mind if we join you for a little?" Jazz asked.

Dunce shrugged his shoulders before walking inside. Jazz knew that meant that he wasn't sure how Sentinel was going to react and didn't want to answer.

"Be quick about it Jazz." Sentinel stated before driving off.

Jazz sighed. Sentinel was a pain in the aft and the only reason he didn't request a transfer again was because he wanted to keep a visor out for Dunce. Said mech wasn't allowed to transfer. From what Jazz had heard, Dunce had tried to do that on the first day he had with Sentinel and he had been denied by the council to transfer and Sentinel had given him a good public yelling at, plus who knows what else once they were alone.

When they got inside, Jazz ran up to Dunce and said, "Hey Dunce, let me introduce you to one of my good friends stationed on Earth." Jazz was happy when Dunce looked excited about that. Dunce didn't get to meet too many new bots so this would be a treat. He then motioned for Prowl to come forward. "Dunce, this is Prowl. He's a cyber-ninja like me. Prowl, this is Dunce. He is one of the best bots you'll ever meet."

Prowl nodded and Jazz was glad that the motorcycle mech put on a smile for the timid mech. He could see that Dunce was calmed immensely by that simple gesture. Prowl was good.

"Hi Prowl. I'm Dunce. Nice to meet you." Dunce stated quickly.

Prowl nodded. "It is a pleasure to meet you as well. Any friend of Jazz's is a friend of mine."

Dunce smiled and said, "Thanks. So, what's it like living here on this planet? Aren't you afraid that the organics are going to melt your armor or something?"

Jazz let out a laugh. Even though he had told Dunce that Earth was safe, he guessed he wanted confirmation from a bot who had lived there to be certain. Prowl, in response, shook his helm. "No. Most organics here are not harmful to us and I am actually good friends with some organics myself. She is a part of the dominant species of this planet, called humans. They're like us in many ways."

Dunce looked like he wanted to ask more but, suddenly, he grew a worried look on his faceplate. "I have to go. Sentinel is calling in and I have wasted too much time already." The car mech then ran down the hall of the ship to the main control room.

"He does seem scared of Sentinel." Prowl observed. "Maybe we should keep an optic on him."

Jazz nodded and led Prowl to his room. As he did though, he hoped that Dunce would just tell him what was wrong. But, he knew that time was what Dunce needed and so he put the matter to rest in his helm...for now.

**Dunce's 1st P.O.V.**

I sighed as I leaned against the side of my berth. The call from Sentinel had been him telling me that I was going to be alone on the ship for the night and that, unless he called me, I was to stay on the ship the entire night and not leave. It was so depressing. But, I was a member of the Autobot machine and I had to play my part...even if I despised it. Every solar cycle, Sentinel and bots like him would yell at me, beat me, order me around to do things that they could very well do themselves, and it sometimes made me want to hit back, just once.

But, I was afraid, and I knew it. I was afraid of getting hurt and I was afraid of starting a fight. I did not like to fight. I found it horrible and I had never gotten into a fight in my existence. Plena Teo would always get disappointed with me when I would come back home with dents and dings.

Flashback

_As I quietly walked into Plena Teo's house, I hoped against all hope that he would not see me before I could fix my dents. As per usual, I was beat up again for not wanting to fight and saying that maybe we should try not fighting the Decepticons...as it seemed to only cause trouble. _

"_Why are you covered in dents young mech?"_

_I jumped at Plena Teo's voice. While he wasn't my sire or carrier, he still had that tone that meant that you were doomed. Turning to him, I sighed. "Some of the other bots ganged up on me again. Just a few dents though." _

_He raised an optic ridge at me before he let out a sigh of his own. "Why don't you defend yourself?" He asked me that question every time that I came home with dings and dents. Of course, being the only bot since the middle of the golden age to not come from the Well but from a sire and a carrier didn't help the matter. Most called me a blight on Cybertronian land. _

_But back to Plena._

_Plena Teo had been a very close friend of my creators and, when they went offline, they had made it a request in their will for Plena Teo to come into guardianship of me. From what Plena had told me, the council had not been very happy about them not getting control of me but no bot messed with Plena Teo. While he was very short...like mini bot sized short but he was a truck, Plena Teo was a very strong mech. Some would say that he could take on the Magnus and win if he wanted._

_Right now, the mainly silver bot with red highlights was looking at me, waiting for an answer. "I don't like to fight. It feels wrong when I even think about it." I answered him softly. I didn't like to fight no matter the reason._

_He sighed and walked up to me before placing a servo on my shoulder and saying, "Young mech, you are right in not liking to fight. But, you must defend yourself. You don't have to keep fighting after you make them back off, but you can't let them walk over you. If you do, they'll walk over you for the rest of your existence." He called me young mech because, like the other younglings, I had to wait for boot came to be named._

_I put my helm down and felt ashamed. I just couldn't do what Plena Teo asked. "I'm sorry Plena." I felt like crying as I stood in front of him. _

"_It's alright young mech." Plena Teo said in a comforting voice before pulling me into a hug. We stayed like that for a few clicks before he pulled back and smiled while looking straight into my optics before saying, "Will you allow me to give you some training so you won't come back home to me with so many dents?"_

_He always knew how to make me feel better. Glancing up at him, I nodded. "Yes, thank you Plena."_

"_You're welcome." He said with a smile before leading me to the living room so he could get the dents out of me._

End of Flashback.

I missed Plena Teo. He had helped me so much when I was little. But, while I could dodge the hits from bots back then, that had to stop when I joined boot camp, and was named Dunce by Sentinel, and had to serve Sentinel. I had learned the first solar cycle serving under Sentinel that dodging and blocking only made the beating worse. "Miss you Plena. Hope the Autobots on Cybertron are not bothering you a lot." I whispered to myself.

Glancing out of the window in my room, I watched as the planet's moon shone half full in the sky. I wished I could go outside. But, Sentinel would not allow it and I had to listen to him. But, he didn't say anything about opening a window and I was sure I would wake up and close the window before Sentinel got back. So, I crawled onto my berth and reached up to the window and opened it. The cool night air felt exotic and wonderful as it traveled across my chassis.

Laying in my berth, I started to shut down my systems for recharge. The next solar cycle was going to be a challenge and I needed as much recharge as I could get. Finally, my systems shut down and I knew no more.

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**Dunce: Well, this is a slow start.**

**Authoress: Yeah, and this story is going to be interesting as it goes on.**

**Jazz: Can we get a clue?**

**Authoress: Nope.**

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**AN: Hey everyone! I got a new story for you all to wonder about what the frag I am doing. XD I'm sorry that The Power of One hasn't been updated but I have the worst mind block on that story right now and I am hoping that working on this story will allow me to take down that block. So, back to this story, I know that not a lot has happened yet but the story is going to be progressing as it goes on and you will learn more about the past as we move...including how Megatron escaped and why Dunce is treated as badly as he is.**

**Oh, and Starscream and Prowl are also still alive and that will be explained later on in the story.**

** Next chapter is going to get us some Decepticon action and some interesting turn of events. Until next time we meet though, please drop a review. =D**


	2. The Organic World

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

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**Dunce: What is going on? *sees butterflies around***

**Authoress: Well, we are welcoming you to Earth.**

**Dunce: And where are we?**

**Authoress: *smiles* You will find out soon.**

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Ch. 2: The Organic World

**Jazz's 3rd P.O.V.**

When Jazz woke up in the morning, the first thing that he realized was that he was on Earth. What was he doing here? Thinking back to the previous solar cycle, Jazz finally remembered that Megatron and his Decepticons had escaped from Cybertron and he, Blurr, Sentinel, and Dunce had been sent on ahead to help the team on Earth fight Megatron and his troops.

Getting off of his berth, Jazz walked down the hall of the warehouse and into the living room to see Prowl sitting crossed legged on the floor watching a nature channel on the television. "You're up early." Prowl said without looking at him.

Of course, Prowl had become astronomically precise with his cyber-ninja abilities ever since he had come back. When they had brought Prowl's chassis back to be laid to rest, the pod that his chassis was in had been about to be sealed when a bright light had flooded the chamber and Prowl had come out alive. While he hadn't said anything at first, Prowl eventually told him that a voice in the Allspark told him that his work was not done yet and they had sent him back. Jazz had figured that Prowl needed some time alone, and he had wanted to keep an optic on Dunce, and so he had told Prowl that he was going to stay on Cybertron and rejoin Sentinel's team for a while.

Thankfully, Prowl had agreed and so this was the first time that he and Prowl had visited each other since then and Jazz was glad to be with his friend. But, now they had something else that they needed to do. "I could say the same for you." Jazz commented with a smile before saying, "Let's go and get Dunce up. We need to get to him before Sentinel orders him to stay on the ship again. That mech wants to get out but he won't break orders unless absolutely necessary...and even then he's scared to." His smile had faltered when he had said that last part.

Prowl nodded and transformed before saying, "We are going to help him. The two of us can give him the confidence he needs."

Jazz followed Prowl's lead and transformed before following him out of the warehouse and to the ship. The faster that they arrived at the ship, the faster they could get Dunce out before Sentinel decided to call in and order Dunce to stay on the ship. The mech really wanted to see Earth and, by the Allspark, Jazz was going to make sure that Dunce had a grand time during his first visit to Earth.

Pulling next to Prowl, Jazz said, "And, it's not like he doesn't have hope. I know that he wants to go against everyone who picks on him...especially Sentinel."

"How can you tell?" Prowl questioned him.

If Jazz had been in his bot mode, he would have smirked. "It took me a while to notice it. When I first rejoined Sentinel's team and watched Dunce, Sentinel made sure that all the windows in the house were closed. So, I figured that Dunce would listen like he normally does. The next solar cycle, when I went to check in though, I noticed Dunce's window was open and said bot shut it. So, he wants to go against Sentinel...I just think that he is too afraid to." Plus, Jazz also had faith in him because he considered himself to be Dunce's friend. The mech didn't have many and, sometimes, Jazz even felt like an older brother to Dunce.

"I think that Dunce is still asleep." Prowl suddenly stated.

Confusion swept over Jazz's systems. "You're good Prowl but you're not that good. How could you possibly know that?"

Prowl stopped and transformed, causing Jazz to as well, before he pointed up and said, "Because, his window is open."

Following Prowl's digit, Jazz glanced up and felt silly. Sure enough, Dunce's window as open for all to see. "Ah..." Was all Jazz could say in response. He felt like an idiot right now. That feeling of idiocy, however, soon took on one of worry. If Sentinel had awoken any time before they did, he could be on his way and if he saw the window open, Dunce would be in serious trouble. "Give me a sec." Jazz stated to Prowl before he jumped up toward the window and, once he was at the window, he quietly closed it before landing back on ground level, on his pedes.

"Good thinking." Prowl stated with a nod before the two of them walked onto the ship.

**Dunce's 1st P.O.V.**

When I woke up, I felt relief. For once, Sentinel had not awakened me in the middle of the night, asking for me to do something. Instead, I had a full recharge and I felt wonderful. Nothing could possibly stop my day from being any better than it was right now. So, I glanced at my internal clock to see how much longer I had before Sentinel would be awake. He usually woke up at zero eight hundred.

Zero eight thirty.

…..Frag it!

I bolted into a sitting up position and quickly glanced at the window. Pure fear ate at me when I saw that the window was closed. Did Sentinel find the window open? I glanced to my closed door. Was he waiting outside the door to pound the lesson of leaving a window open into me? Just the thought of another beating caused me to shudder and it took all of the courage I had to get out of my berth and walk up to my door.

When I was about to open it though, I stopped.

Sentinel wouldn't have the patience to make me sweat out my worry like I currently was. But, if he hadn't been the one to shut the window, then who...

"Hey Dunce." Jazz greeted me with a smile when I opened the door. Both he and Prowl were standing in my doorway and Jazz was smiling. "Next time I might not be around to close the window."

A pang of guilt traveled through me. If Jazz hadn't found the window open, then Sentinel might of and that could have meant big trouble. "I'm so sorry Jazz. I slept in and I didn't remember about the window and I just couldn't remember that," I started to apologize, ranting as I felt like I was in trouble.

"Calm down Dunce. Take in deep intakes. You're not in trouble." Prowl said to me before placing a servo on my shoulder.

An automatic flinch traveled through me at the contact, memories of beatings after getting found out rising to the surface, before I forced a smile of relief. "Thanks Prowl, Jazz; that meant a lot to me."

Jazz let out a laugh at that before he said, "FYI, while on Earth, Sentinel usually isn't up until zero nine thirty."

I nodded, grateful for the information, before a thought occurred to me. "Why are you two here this early anyways?"

"We were wondering if you wanted to come to the park with us and hang out." Jazz offered.

Caution immediately came to processor. I had just had a mental freakout because I had thought Sentinel had found the window open. What would he do if I went to the park without his permission? "I'm...I'm not sure Jazz." I hesitantly answered.

But, it seemed like Jazz was not going to let me win this one. "Dunce, you can't get in trouble for going out if you haven't been told that you shouldn't." He then grabbed my servo and, before I could stop him, he pulled me forward before saying, "Now, before you can think of another excuse, let's get going." He then gave me a begging look.

I knew that the look was for show and he just really wanted me to come with. An argument wanted to come out but Jazz had told me not to argue and I didn't want to get one of my few friends upset with me by arguing. So, letting out a nervous sigh, I said, "Fine. Just...let's go."

I then followed them as we walked out of the Steelhaven and made our way forward. I had no idea where we were going and, while I was still nervous about Sentinel, excitement about being out on an organic world for more than a click was overpowering that fear. This planet was so exotic and peaceful that I couldn't stop myself from smiling and looking at everything that we passed.

"What's that?" I asked about a strange tall object that had rough brown materials at the bottom of its being and smoother green foliage at the top.

"That's called a tree. Humans use them for many things, one including to shade them from the sun if it gets to warm for them." Prowl answered as they walked.

The area that they were going in had many of these 'trees' and I had a feeling that this was the park that they were talking about. The organic matter below our pedes was green and had a soft feeling against my pedes. It almost tickled. When we reached the top of a small hill in the park, I looked down and saw that there were humans all over, spread out of course. Some playing a strange game with a disc, some sitting with a basket next to them, and some were just running around the field and chasing each other. "This area, its awesome." I said with a huge smile on my faceplate.

"Sit and relax Dunce. The sun here feels really nice against our chassis." Jazz said with a smile before he sat down, legs crossed and their optics shutting off in a meditative way.

Shrugging, I sat on the hill. But, instead of crossing my legs and turning off my optics like they did, I stretched out my legs so they went down the slope of the hill and placed my servos to my side. The sun did feel amazing on my chassis. I wasn't here to see the sun though. We had a sun near Cybertron that I got to see and it looked the same as this one. I wanted to watch the organics because we did _not_ have those on Cybertron and, after this trip, I doubted that I would see one ever again.

"This is really nice." I said softly. The peace of everything around was very calming. I hadn't felt this peaceful since before I had been forced to go to boot camp, though that had only been a solar cycle itself before I had been forced to work for Sentinel.

A feeling of something light and small lightly hitting the side of my lower leg caused me to glanced down and I was surprised to see a small sphere next to me. It was a dark orange in color and a group of about ten human mechs walked toward me before one asked, "Hey, could you pass us the ball?"

I didn't want to be rude and so I nodded before trying to grab it with my digits, being careful so I wouldn't break it. But I soon found that I could not pick it up. Instead, I put a digit next to it before lightly tapping it toward them. "What is that?" I asked as one of them picked it up.

They looked at each other before a different one said, "It's called a basketball. We use it in one of our games. What's your name?"

This was amazing. I was talking to a human...an alien. "I'm Dunce. What about you?"

The group of ten then introduced themselves as Nathan, Evan, Keith, James, Matt, Luke, Tyler, Paul, Riley, and Danny. Danny had been the one to ask me for the ball and Nathan had been the one to tell me what it was. "You have a weird name Dunce." Riley stated before Keith and James elbowed him. Dunce had a feeling that he was the kind of human who talked first and thought later.

I wasn't offended though and laughed before saying, "Well, to me, your names are highly unusual." I then glanced at the place where they had come from playing and motioned toward it before asking, "Do you mind if I watch? This is my first visit to Earth."

They nodded and James said, "That would be fine."

A smile crossed my faceplate as I stood up and followed the group of boys to the place where they were playing. Once I sat down by a tree, they began to play the game and I was very interested in it. Maybe I could try to make a ball in my size and could try to play a little when I got back to Cybertron. They were rhythmically dropping the ball to the ground and tapping it so it would keep in rhythm as they moved forward. Then, they would pass to some while the others tried to take the ball away. Maybe this was a complicated form of keep away?

After about ten minutes, they stopped the game and put the ball into one of their bags before they walked up to me. "So Dunce," Matt started, "do you have any games on Cybertron?"

I thought about that before saying, "Nothing like that but we have a few. Plena Teo did teach me how to lob and I am okay at it."

"What's lobbing?" Paul asked.

Oh scrap. I forgot that they wouldn't know. "We pretty much have a giant sphere made of metal, about this big," I then showed them an approximate size with my servos, before saying, "and the point is to see who can catch the most amount of throws from the other bot. Of course, the bot throwing makes it more difficult with each pass."

"So you wouldn't be able to show us?" Luke guessed.

"I think Bulkhead has a lobbing ball and can bring it out." I jumped at Jazz's voice when it came from behind me and stared at him as he continued. "They just woke up and are going to be coming here soon. Prowl," That was when I noticed Prowl leaning against the tree. "can you ask Bulkhead to bring his lobbing ball?"

Prowl nodded in response and got on his communicator. While he did that, I turned back to my new human friends before saying, "Hey guys, this is Jazz and that's Prowl over there. Jazz, this is Nathan, Evan, Keith, James, Matt, Luke, Tyler, Paul, Riley, and Danny." I introduced. I figured that it would be a good idea.

A smile came on Jazz's faceplates before he said, "Nice to meet you all. Any friend of Dunce's is a friend of mine." He then nudged my side playfully before saying, "This is Dunce's first visit to Earth. I hope you all are showing him a good time."

There were ten synchronized nods that followed Jazz saying that.

"The others are on their way now and Bulkhead is bringing his lobbing ball." Prowl said as he walked over from where he had been standing.

My human friends looked excited and I felt amazing. This solar cycle had been amazing so far and I doubted that there was much that could ruin it.

**Megatron's 3rd P.O.V.**

Megatron sat on his thrown while watching the security footage from the city. It seemed like the Elite Guard had been faster in following him to this planet than he thought that they would. Of course, if he had more time to plan out his escape, than the Autobots would not have been able to follow him to this planet in the first place. A bot who lived on Cybertron that he had though had long since forgotten about the Decepticon cause had come to visit him in prison. The bot had very high ties to the security Autobots there and had arranged for the systems to be turned off so he wouldn't be involved. Said bot had given him an explosive so he could escape. The escape had happened as soon as he had another visitor, to take suspicion off of his newly rediscovered ally, and had been quickly planned out. Their ship had been a simple transport ship that his ally had also set up.

But, back to the situation. Megatron watched the recorded feed of when the Elite Guard ship had landed the previous solar cycle. The first to have gotten off was the speeder known as Blurr. He had run around and surveyed the area, like he would bother attacking them so soon after he had escaped from prison. After the speedster was the big chinned pompous Prime who he couldn't remember the name of...and he really didn't care. Then, the white cyber-ninja known as Jazz came down the ship. Megatron remembered him carrying that other cyber-ninja that Lockdown talked about, Prowl, after the final battle on Earth when he was captured. How Prowl was now online again was a mystery for him that he did not have time for.

The final bot that came down, however, caught his attention. Megatron had seen the records of all Cybertronians that traveled with the Elite Guard, or so he though. "Shockwave, what information do you have on that mech?"

The one optic mech glanced up at the screen from where he was standing before he said, "That's Dunce. There wasn't much on file about him except for the fact that he was only in boot camp for one solar cycle and that he was the first Cybertronian since the middle of the Golden Age to not come from the Well, but from a sire and a carrier."

While the fact this Dunce had only completed one solar cycle of boot camp was interesting, what really intrigued Megatron about this black mech with red hips and red trim was that he had not come from the well. From the time he was in the gladiator pits, it was said that the Well was the only way for a Cybertronian to come into existence. There were some bots who believed that it was possible but no bot had taken them seriously. But, this mech Dunce seemed to prove them different.

Even though this mech was interesting, Megatron was not going to spend much time on him. He didn't even complete one solar cycle of the Autobot boot camp and that meant that he was going to be a pathetic fighter. So, he turned to Shockwave. "Very good Shockwave. Have you received any more information from our contact on Cybertron?" When Shockwave had returned to him, Megatron had been surprised to hear that his spy had been able to convince an Autobot to help them and, once the Decepticons had all the information that their new informant would be able to get, the informant would leave Cybertron and join the Decepticons once all the information was theirs.

"No my Lord. Security will most likely be tight after our escape and he will most likely not be able to get the information to us until the commotion our leaving cost calms down." Shockwave answered.

Megatron nodded. He had two main goals now. The first was to gather any and all forces that he could to Earth so they could swell their forces and use the space bridge on Earth to attack Cybertron. His second goal was to convert as many Autobots that he could to the Decepticon cause. While he had gone quite power mad near the end of the Great War and the time afterwords, his capture had snapped his attention back to what he had originally fought for. He wasn't fighting to gain power or rule. Megatron was fighting for equality on Cybertron and the downfall of the corrupt council that, even to this solar cycle, plagues Cybertron.

One of the reasons that he had come back to Earth, besides the fact that most Autobots had an irrational fear of organics and he would have time to plan, was to try and show the team of Optimus Prime that the Autobots had been manipulating them and that the Decepticons had not been as evil as their leaders had claimed. During his past time on Earth, the young Prime that he had fought had caught his attention as an Autobot that actually had a moral compass and his team followed his example. They were some Autobots that had the best hope of conversion. If he could accomplish those goals, the Decepticons would finally be able to return home.

"Shockwave, continue to contact our forces and tell them to gather in this sector." Megatron ordered. The more troops they had, the better he would feel about this entire plan. "Blitzwing, Lugnut; come with me. We are going to be giving the Autobots a welcome." He said that last part over his comm link. Glancing at one of the monitors were live feed of the park were the Autobots currently was currently being played, Megatron saw that he might have to bring another Decepticon due to the number of Autobots there. "Starscream, join us as well."

Starscream had been another surprise. When he had seen the seeker's offline chassis on the Autobot ship, he had been surprised. The mech had just seemed to come back to life so often that seeing his second in command offline had been another shock that had caused his change.

His shock had grown even more when, about twenty solar cycles after their imprisonment, a very online Starscream had been led into the cell next to his. His confusion had caused him to ask his second in command how he was even online. It was when Starscream had answered that had shown him that his second had truly been changed by his own experience. According to his second, when he had been offline, he had been stuck in a limbo. It was almost like the Well couldn't decide whether to take him or not. Finally, a voice had come to Starscream and said that it was not his time to join the Allspark and that he was still needed online. Megatron would have been skeptical of the story if he had not learned how to tell when Starscream was lying. And that time, he knew that Starscream had been telling the full honest truth.

"As you command, Lord Megatron." He heard Starscream answered over the comm. as he walked to the launch bay. It would take him some time to get used to Starscream being so loyal.

When he arrived at the launch bay, he saw that Blitzwing, Lugnut, and Starscream were standing at attention, ready to transform. Megatron wasted no time in transforming before rising up into the sky. He needed to gauge the Autobot strength on Earth and he was going to make sure that it was interesting.

* * *

**Dunce: This park is very interesting. Thank you Authoress.**

**Authoress: *smiles* You're welcome. **

**Primus: Why are you so nice to Dunce compared to everyone else?**

**Authoress: Well, he gets enough problems in the story so he should have a vacation like standing here. Unlike you. *smirks evilly at Primus***

**Primus: Oh, this isn't my story. *chuckles nervously* I'm leaving now. *runs out***

**Authoress: *smiles***

* * *

**AN: And here is the next exciting chapter! I hope you all enjoy it. Next chapter is going to have our first fight and Megatron meets Dunce! Should be very interesting. For you who are waiting for The Power of One, I will try to have it updated by the end of this weekend at the latest. I wonder who the Autobot contact is that the Decepticons now have? When are we going to get to meet the bot? You will all find out eventually. I will say that there will be many new bots coming around; some that are inserts from other series, some OCs, and some from this dimension. Of course, we also have a few on Earth that come around...can you guess one? Until next time, please drop a review...even to say hi. =D**


	3. First Encounter

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Jazz: Well, what am I doing here? Don't your OCs normally go here.**

**Authoress: Well, for the time being, I only have Dunce. If you don't like it, I can always bring somebot else in.**

**Jazz: If you could bring Prowler here to be with us, I won't mind. *smiles***

**Authoress: *sighs* Fine. *snaps fingers***

**Prowl: What am I doing here?**

**Authoress: Jazz wanted you.**

**Jazz: Prowler!**

* * *

Ch. 3: First Encounter

**Megatron's 3rd P.O.V.**

As he flew above the city of Detroit, Megatron surveyed the park. He wanted to see the position of the Autobots before he launched the attack. Most of Optimus' team seemed to be watching the strange mech, Dunce, throw a lobbing ball with the big green Autobot, Bulkhead. Blurr,Jazz and Prowl were standing by Dunce and were maybe cheering for the mech. Dunce looked nervous as he threw the ball but Megatron could not tell why. He was pretty sure that it wasn't about the game since the strange mech seemed to be beating the large Autobot, but he wasn't sure what else would cause Dunce, who was the tallest there, to have such a worried look to him.

Finally deciding to land, Megatron transformed while saying, "Decepticons transform!"

Megatron smirked at the shocked look on the Autobots' faceplates when the four of them landed in front of them. It was like they weren't expecting them. Well, he always loved to surprise his opponents.

"Back off Decepti-scum!" The big chinned Prime yelled out.

….Ah, the Prime's name was Sentinel. His name did not match him at all. Sentinels were silent soldiers who kept watch. This mech just blabbered along and didn't take in his surroundings

Letting out a chuckle, Megatron said, "I do not see any of your Autobots that could make me little Prime."

That caused a growl to come from Sentinel, which made Megatron smirk, before the Prime charged at him. While it was amusing to tease the Prime, Megatron did not want to waste his time fighting the Prime. Thankfully, Lugnut took on the Prime along with a few of Optimus' team. The other Autobots and his Decepticons soon feel into battle leaving him to fight Optimus Prime. Out of all the Autobots that he had faced in battle, Megatron respected Optimus. While most Autobots only preached about equality and giving chances to all, Optimus, and in outstretch his team, actually lived those qualities. They were the same qualities that he had fought for during the Great War and they were the qualities that he was now fighting for again.

Movement in the corner of his optic had Megatron glancing to the side and he was surprised to see that Dunce was not taking part in the battle. Was it because he thought that the others could handle his Decepticons or was there another reason? To Megatron, there was only one way to find out.

Shoving Optimus out of the way, Megatron turned and charged at Dunce.

"Stay away from me." Dunce yelped at him.

Megatron was so shocked from Dunce's statement that he actually stopped and stared at the mech in shock. What was wrong with this Autobot? Did he not want to fight? This Dunce was strange. But, Megatron soon snapped himself out of his shock to see Dunce setting something down. It was then that he saw that it was a human. Dunce was so worried about protecting the human that he did not want to fight? So, Megatron decided to test this Dunce again by charging at him.

This time, Dunce did launch at him. But, it wasn't in a way that was just an attack. How could he tell? Well, it was by what Dunce yelled. "Look out!"

Who the frag was supposed to look out? Megatron was about to step down when Dunce tackled him. The leader of the Decepticons, for the spark of himself, could not figure out what Dunce was doing. Well, he did know that the mech was now in servos reach so he stood up and took a fighting stance. "Run!" Dunce yelled and it was then that Megatron noticed another human where his pede had been about to land. This Dunce was risking his spark to save these organics who he most likely had not known long.

But, Megatron still wanted to figure out what skills this Autobot possessed. "Fight me Autobot!" Megatron yelled out before swiping at the mech.

Just for Dunce to agilely dodge his first swipe and, when Megatron did a return strike, Dunce transformed his right servo into a blade and deflected his sword. As Megatron continued to strike at Dunce and Dunce continued to dodge, Megatron felt his curiosity grow for this young mech. According to what Shockwave found, Dunce had only been in boot camp one solar cycle; not long enough to learn to fight like this. Did he have this as natural raw talent or had he had help?

Since his thoughts had distracted him, Megatron wasn't prepared for Dunce lashing out at him and kicking him away before backing up and running. It was now set; Megatron was going to be doing a lot more research. Hopefully, their spy on the Autobot side would bring them more information on the bot. But, Megatron had to be back at base to research so he turned toward the other Decepticons. "Decepticons return to base." He then jumped into the air and hovered their for a few nano-clicks, staring at Dunce before he transformed and led his troops back to the base. Megatron had much to research and every nano-click counted.

**Dunce's 1st P.O.V.**

Even though Megatron was flying away from the battle, I was still shivering in shock. I had locked blades with Megatron, the ruthless leader of the Decepticons...according to the Autobots that is. The only reason that I had even fought Megatron in the first place and not just plain avoid the fight was because of my new friends. First, Nathan had been too close to the battle for comfort and I had ran off to make sure he ran away and was safe. When I had returned to the fight, I had panicked when I saw that Paul was right in front of Megatron and, if the Decepticon leader had taken a few steps forward, then Paul would have been squished.

So, ignoring my instinct to not get into fights, I had tackled the Decepticon so Paul didn't get squished. Once Paul was far enough away for me to stand up safely, I did so and got into a fighting stance that I had learned from Plena before telling him to run. After that, Megatron had taken a swipe at me while demanding that I fight him. I dodged his first swipe like Plena had taught me but his second was coming in too quickly for me to dodge. So, I had transformed my right servo into the blade that I had and deflected the leader's blade.

From that swing on, I just dodged. I did not want to fight but I could not see a way to stop and run so dodging was the best thing for me to do. During that fight though, Dunce had felt like he was being studied. The look in the Decepticon leader's optics told me that Megatron had been thinking about something. I was terrified as to what that possibly could be.

"Dunce, are you okay?"

I turned to Jazz and saw that the others were looking at me. Nodding, I said, "Yeah, nothing hurt." I then sighed when a wave of exhaustion hit me before saying, "But I think I am going to go back to the ship and go to recharge early. This solar cycle has taken a lot out of me." I then turned and walked toward the direction of the ship.

While this solar cycle had been exciting, I needed to think about many things. One of those things was Sentinel. When he had arrived at the park with the others, he had sent me the most dooming glare that he had ever sent me and I had a feeling that, when he had me alone, I was not going to enjoy the experience. The look had intensified when he had run off from the fight with Nathan to make sure that he would stay safe. Again, Sentinel had sent me a glare and I was nervous as to what might follow.

Another of the thoughts that were plaguing my processor were those of the Decepticon leader; Megatron. I had been actively avoiding the battle at first, trying to find a way to sneak away to get Nathan to safety. But, Megatron had charged at me and that had scared me so much that my panicked processor found a way for me to get him a little further away and he had run for safety. When I had looked back up and saw Paul where he was, all of my senses of avoiding the fight left me and I had tackled Megatron, leader of the Decepticons, away from Paul. When I had stood up, after making sure that Paul was away from the fight, I had glanced at the Decepticon leader and saw that he was staring at me. It wasn't the sort of stare that was done in battle. It had felt like he was analyzing me, trying to see more than what the battle was showing.

As I arrived at the ship, I shivered at the remembrance of fighting the Decepticon leader. Never again did I want to be put in that situation. First of all, I hated fighting. Secondly, I had been forced to show that I might have more training than the Elite Guard had allowed. That was because of Plena Teo but, I didn't want to think about that. Instead, all that I wanted to think about was going to recharge after I got a cube of energon for myself. Yes, a nice cube of energon sounded nice.

"This has been too long of a solar cycle." I muttered to myself as I stopped in the bridge. It seemed that I had woke up a few cycles ago, but it was already so late and my systems felt tired. Of course, that could have been helped by the fact that I had,

The sound of an engine told me that somebot had come onto the ship. I was hoping that it was one of Optimus' bots or Jazz. But, when the vehicle came to a stop and transformed in the open doorway, dread traveled through my systems. Sentinel was now walking toward me and he did not look happy.

"You complete fool!" Sentinel yelled at me and, before I could even think about defending myself, a fist slammed into my faceplate. The pain traveled through my helm from the blow and I dropped to the ground from shock.

Stuttering, I looked up at Sentinel and asked, "What...what d...did I do?" I felt fear travel through me as Sentinel stood above me. This was worse than facing Megatron. At least against Megatron I could defend myself.

Sentinel growled at me before saying, "It's what you didn't do you glitch! You made the Autobots look like cowards to the Decepticons and you have disgraced the Autobot name!"

I winced and cried out in pain when Sentinel drove his pede into my side again and again. It hurt. The pain was traveling up my side and I just wanted it to stop. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Sentinel finally did stop. Once he did, I just laid there on the floor, shivering in pain and fear. I didn't meant to mess up. I was sorry. "It won't happen again Sentinel Prime sir. It won't happen again sir." My vocalizer barely got out in a pain filled whisper.

A huff came from Sentinel and I again glanced up at him before Sentinel said, "Get your weak aft off the floor and get yourself fixed up before anyone else sees you." Sentinel then walked out.

It took me a few clicks to pull himself off of the floor before I slowly limped back to my room. The pain from my side was really causing me to have problems walking. But, I had experienced worse before and I knew that I was going to live. I was a part of the great Autobot cog and I was not going to mess it up by not playing my part. I was there to serve, and serve was what I would do.

Once I was in my room, I took out a med kit that Sentinel had forced me to learn to use so that the medics who actually gave a scrap would stop asking questions about how I was getting hurt so badly so often. It didn't take me very long to learn how to use it on myself.

A hiss escaped my vocals when I started to take out the dents in my side. Just because I was used to the beatings didn't meant that I was used to the pain. With each attack that was done on me, the pain felt like it was something new. I had hoped that, over time, the pain would just become numb. But, that hadn't happened.

In the back of my processor, I could hear a faint voice saying that I should stand up to Sentinel and any others who beat down on me. But, I squashed the voice. I wasn't going to risk my place in the Autobots because of a few beatings. I was a necessary part in the great Autobot machine, or so the advertisements always said, and I would not risk the Autobots losing a piece in their machine, no matter how much pain that I went though to secure it.

**Jazz's 3rd P.O.V.**

When Dunce wasn't at the warehouse yet and Sentinel had been there for quite a few cycles , Jazz was worried. Sentinel had said that he was going to the Steelhaven to see if Cybertron had called and Jazz had not thought much of it. That was, until, Prowl had reminded him that Dunce had walked back first. Jazz knew that he couldn't just go back to the ship without an excuse to go. When Sentinel had walked in, Jazz had studied his appearance and noticed scuffs on Sentinel's knuckle joints that were not there after the fight with the Decepticons as well as some scuffing on his right pede.

Finally thinking of an excuse, Jazz walked up to Sentinel. "Hey S.P., I'm going to go to the ship to get some new tunes to show Prowl."

The panicked look that, for a nano-click, crossed Sentinel's faceplate told Jazz that something was up. "I believe that we should all stay here just in case the Decepticons try to attack while we are recovering."

"Then I believe Jazz and I should go and find Dunce." Prowl stated. "He is out there alone and the Decepticons are sure to take advantage of a lone Autobot."

Again, the panicked look returned to Sentinel's faceplate. He was hiding something. Jazz had served under Sentinel long enough to know when the mech was trying to cover something up, something that he should not have done.

But, before Jazz could do anything, Optimus walked in and said, "Dunce just called in and said that he is going to be staying up on the Steelhaven tonight at monitor duty so the rest of us can get some recharge."

And there went their only excuse to go and check on Dunce. Frag it why did Optimus have to come in now? If he had waited a few clicks, Jazz was sure that he would have been able to go and see Dunce. Now though, he would have to go to recharge...for a little at least.

Letting out a fake out-vent, Jazz started to walk toward his and Prowl's room, for they shared the tree, before he said, "Well, then I am going to hit the berth. Who knows what could happen tomorrow?" He then walked off.

As he guessed, it didn't take Prowl long to catch up to him. "So, when do we leave?" Yeah, Prowl knew him too well.

Smirking, he waited until they were in their room and the door was closed before saying, "I figure that everyone should be in recharge in about a cycle. Once they are out, we'll go to the Steelhaven and check up on Dunce. Poor mech fought Megatron today and I doubt he would want to stay awake for long unless something else was going on."

Prowl nodded at them and so the two cyber-ninjas waited for a cycle before they quietly crept out of the hole in their roof and made their way to the Steelhaven. Jazz wanted to make sure that Dunce was one hundred percent before he would get some recharge. The young mech was hiding something and Jazz wanted to know. However, he would have to be careful in his asking.

Once the two of them arrived at the Steelhaven, Jazz punched in the codes before the platform to enter the ship came down before them. "You think that Dunce is still awake?" Prowl asked.

Jazz shrugged his shoulders and motioned to the hall they were walking down before saying, "I couldn't tell you Prowl. Some solar cycles, Dunce can stay up for a few solar cycles before he finally goes to recharge and others he can barely stay up a cycle before he crashes. We'll see when we get to the bridge."

It took the two of them another click before they arrived at the doors and, when they opened, Jazz sighed in relief when he saw that Dunce was alright but in recharge. His back was straight but his helm was resting on his shoulder so Jazz was guessing that Dunce had just drifted off. "Let's get him to his room. You and I can take over until the morning. Then, we'll wake him up so he won't get in trouble." Prowl suggested.

That sounded like a good idea. After the solar cycle that Dunce had, he could use a nice recharge on an actual berth. So, taking Dunce's right side, he lifted him up at the same time that Prowl lifted his left side and they walked Dunce to his room. Jazz was about to put him in his berth when he noticed something. "Hang on Prowler, shine a light here." And he pointed to Dunce's back when he said that.

Prowl frowned, probably at being called Prowler, but shone a light to the area where Jazz had said. When the light hit the spot, Jazz frowned. There was a small dent that had not been there after the battle with the Decepticons. How could Dunce have gotten that? "Now I know something is going on." Jazz stated, his optic ridges narrowing as he laid Dunce down.

The position of the dent was the reason that Jazz knew something was going on. It was one of the few spots that Dunce would most likely not be able to reach on his own. That meant that the mech was hiding something. Eventually, Jazz was going to find out what that was...before it was too late.

**Megatron's 3rd P.O.V.**

As Megatron waited for Shockwave to get off of the line with their new Autobot spy, he thought about the battle. That fragging mech that he had thought he was not going to pay attention to, was now the center of his thoughts. Dunce; the mech who had been able to dodge and deflect his attacks with no record of training. Something was strange with that mech and Megatron wanted to know everything that there was to know about the bot. It was top priority. None of his other goals were going to come over that. Why would the Autobots not train a mech with that much potential? It made no sense. Hopefully, their new spy would give Shockwave some more information.

"Fragging mech." Megatron grumbled. He hadn't planned on being this distracted by the one mech who seemed to not want to fight. During his fight, Dunce had only even confronted him to make sure that the two humans that had gotten stuck behind got away. Then, Dunce had retreated. For once, the leader of the Decepticons had no idea what to think about this mech.

Pedesteps coming toward him had Megatron bring his helm up and he saw that Shockwave was approaching him. "Shockwave, did our new informant have any information on Dunce?"

Shockwave was known as a mech who showed little to no emotion. So, when the mech's optic darkened in a way that Megatron realized was him feeling...sorry for Dunce, Megatron waited patiently. It wasn't something that he would normally do but this seemed to be important. "He won't cause you any trouble. Actually, he actively avoids trouble whenever he can. If somebot hits him, he just keeps on going like nothing happened. Unfortunately, he is completely sold on the idea of him being needed in the 'great Autobot cause' and won't argue. Most bots on Cybertron criticize him and beat on him when they can. Also, our contact said that Dunce didn't have any training, as far as he knew. If he did get training, it was in secret."

While the latter part of Shockwave's report was important, Megatron was shocked at the first part. The Autobots constantly talked about being one with each other, never being bad, evil, and the sort and yet they would treat a fellow Cybertronian like this? It made him shake his helm. Many Autobots were under the spell that said that Autobots were good and Decepticons were evil. While Megatron was not willing to hide the fact that some of his troops had not been nice during their time of major fighting, he had noticed many of his troops had changed after the war. Frag, even Lockdown had been changed. He had never seen a bot transform like Lockdown had; a sadistic bounty hunter to an information interceptor and, while he still liked mods, Lockdown would no longer take them from the bots he captured.

Suddenly, an idea came to the leader. Dunce seemed different from most Autobots and that could work in his favor for his plans to work."Shockwave," Megatron started. "what are the chances of this 'Dunce' being swayed to change sides?"

"Difficult my Lord." Shockwave answered. "Like I said, Dunce has been deeply ingrained with the Autobot code. If you could convince him of the Autobot code being wrong, then he would most likely join. But, it would not be easy."

A hum of thought came from the Decepticon leader. So, Dunce was under the same spell as every other Autobot. But, he knew that spell could be broken. It had before. Megatron then glanced back at Shockwave before saying, "Contact our new spy and tell him to keep looking for any information that may pertain to Dunce."

Shockwave nodded. "Yes, Lord Megatron." He then turned and left the room, leaving Megatron alone.

And alone was a good thing at the moment. Megatron needed to do some thinking. the way that Dunce had dodged his blows seemed almost flawless. But, the mech had not wanted to fight. And, if what Shockwave said was true, which it most likely was, than it was from the fact that Dunce did not like to fight others. Maybe this Autobot was who he needed to finally turn the tides of this war. He would just have to act cautiously. Dunce seemed like a delicate bot who, if pushed to hard, might break and he did not want that to happen. Now, he had to set a plan in motion to test Dunce so he could set a plan in motion to restore peace for all Cybertronians.

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**Jazz: Thank you Authoress!**

**Authoress: *sighs* Well, I have to be nice to you all sometimes.**

**Prowl: Speaking of that, what is going on with your story.**

**Authoress: Sorry, lip components are sealed! *runs off***

**Jazz: She does know that we are ninjas and can catch her...right?**

**Prowl: *shrugs***

**Both: *chase after Authoress***

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**AN: And here is this next chapter! Looks like Megsy is starting to become more interested in Dunce than he was at first. Very curious. Also, poor Dunce. Sentinel just beat him up. =( I hate to write it but it is how the story has to go for a while. Unfortunately, it is important to everything. Next chapter is going to hold quite the surprise for Dunce and I can't wait! Until next time, please drop a review! XD**


	4. Into Motion

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

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**Jazz: So, this looks like it is going to be interesting.**

**Authoress: Oh, you don't know the half of it...yet. *smirks and walks off***

**Prowl: Whenever she does that, I have the strongest urge to run away.**

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Ch. 4: Into Motion

I groaned as I woke up. While I had fixed the dents that I received from Sentinel the other day, that didn't stop my chassis from being unbearably sore when I got up. But, I knew that I had to. If I didn't, then I would be beaten again and that would cause me to become even more sore. But, as I got up, I realized that I was in my room. How the frag had I gotten here? The last thing that I remembered was that I was watching the monitors since I didn't want to be around Sentinel and he was at the Autobot warehouse here in Detroit. Who had moved me? I doubted that it was Sentinel because he would have yelled at me for falling into recharge.

"One way to find out." I muttered to myself before I walked out of my room and to the bridge.

Once I got there, I sat in my chair and pulled up the security footage from the night before starting from when I had started monitor duty. I hadn't stayed awake long into my shift and I watched the footage for about a cycle until the two bots responsible for moving me came into view. Of course Jazz had covered for him and it seemed like Prowl had helped. Jazz was always watching his back.

When I had been first assigned to work with Sentinel, it had been dreary. I had no one to talk to and each solar cycle became harder and harder to deal with. Every solar cycle, bots jeering at me, shoving me around, and treating me like I was an idiot. Eventually, I had started to believe them in their saying that I was an idiot. But, that changed when Jazz rejoined Sentinel's team. I had heard Sentinel complain about Jazz whenever the mech was brought up and I had been nervous when Jazz had first started to work with us. But, to my surprise, Jazz had been quite friendly...more friendly than most had ever been toward me. Soon, I started to talk with Jazz about small random subjects and I was glad when Jazz would engage me in actual conversation and took my opinion into consideration.

And now it seemed like Prowl was becoming that sort of friend. Though, it seemed like Prowl wasn't as much of a talker as Jazz was. Guess he was Jazz's balance. But, Prowl seemed to be nice and cared. In thinking that, I decided that I wanted to do something nice for the two of them, to show them that I appreciated what they were doing. But, I couldn't think of what _I_ could do. Something would come to processor. But, I knew that it was going to take some time.

The sound of the door opening caused me to turn and I smiled when I saw Jazz and Prowl walk in. They walked over to me and Jazz asked, "Dunce, how did you recharge?"

Putting on a smile to cover the soreness that I felt, I said, "Pretty good. Surprisingly, I didn't have any nightmares about the Decepticons." Of course, that was because they had been too cryptic to be nightmares. The Decepticons had been in my dreams but the tone didn't suggest a nightmare. Instead, it almost seemed...peaceful. But, I knew that was impossible because the Decepticons were war bent monsters bent on domination and the Autobots were the only beings standing in their way.

"That's good." Prowl stated with a nod. "Jazz and I were about to go on patrol through the city and we were wondering if you wanted to come with us?"

At first, I wanted to say no. I had just received a beating and didn't want to do anything to irk Sentinel. But, Jazz and Prowl had covered for me last night and this could be one thing that I could do to repay them. So, I smiled and nodded. "Sure. It'll be great to see the rest of Detroit."

Jazz and Prowl nodded before leading me out of the ship, Jazz on my right and Prowl on my left. It felt so strange to be doing this and, yet, I didn't mind. The sun was partly covered by clouds and so there was a cool tint to the morning air. It felt amazing. "Hey Dunce, do you want to get your alt mode?" Jazz asked.

While I wanted to say yes, I was already risking a lot in coming out without informing Sentinel. So, I shook my helm. "Not yet Jazz. I'll get one eventually. But, for now, I think that I'll walk." Seeing Jazz's look that said that he wanted to be told why I didn't want one now, I added, "Plus, think of how much of Detroit I would miss if I was zooming by in an alt mode instead of walking around."

That seemed to close the argument and Jazz nodded before the three of us continued to walk around Detroit. The city, while large in human terms, seemed so small and urban compared to Iacon and it was quite nice. While noises filled the air, it was much quieter than Iacon was during this time. Usually, bots were yelling at each other to get out of the way and they were all cramped so you had to fight your way through the crowds or risk being late. I made sure to learn how to either avoid the foot traffic or move through it quickly once I started to work with Sentinel.

But, here on Earth, there was no problem walking around and it felt nice not to be so cramped when we walked around. "Earth has a lot of space to move around." I commented as we turned a corner. Sumdac tower was right in front of us and it seemed that we were heading in that direction. It was strange to think that all of this beauty and positive technology had originated from Megatron himself, the evil leader of the Decepticons.

I shivered at the thought of the warlord and our previous...skirmish against each other. I wouldn't call it a fight because I had just stayed long enough to make sure that my human friends were safe before I got away from the leader. But, the look that Megatron had given me before he retreated was bothering me. In the back of my helm, I feared that I had somehow caught Megatron's attention with the way that I had dodged him. Thankfully, Sentinel hadn't asked me where I had learned to react like that, since it had been before I had come to the Elite Guard and had been done in secret...off the books in other words.

"Hey Dunce, want to go and see Sari? I think she wanted to talk with you more the other solar cycle but wasn't able to due to Megatron popping up." Jazz asked me, snapping me out of my thoughts.

Turning to the two of them, I nodded. "Sure." I added a smile to the end of that. Sari was really interesting in the fact that she was techno-organic. In my processor's optic, I could imagine her scaring Sentinel with the fact that organic matter and technological matter could co-exist in one being.

Jazz laughed and said, "You'll like her a lot. She's a lot like me; carefree and gets on Sentinel's nerves."

I had to force a laugh at the last part. Jazz's getting on Sentinel's nerves never helped me in the past and I doubted that Sari's added nerve-getting-on was going to make the situation any better. But, I was always willing to make a new friend, since I had a pretty short list of them. A new friend was worth whatever extra anger was added onto Sentinel.

When we walked through the doors of Sumdac tower, I was amazed to see how spacious it was. I had figured that, it being a human building, I would feel cramped. But, I felt very relaxed as the three of us stood in the hallway.

"Welcome to Sumdac Towers. How may I help you?"

I jumped and stared in shock at the obviously non-sentient bot behind the desk when it stated that.

**Jazz's 3rd P.O.V.**

Jazz let out a quick laugh when Dunce was startled by the secretary bot that was behind the desk. When he had first interacted with the bot, Jazz had been very confused about it until Sari had told him that it was pre-programed to say that and did the job of a secretary bot. "It's pre-programmed to do that Dunce." Jazz informed his friend with a smile.

Dunce smiled in embarrassment and nodded, a small smile on his faceplate. Jazz was honestly surprised that Dunce had even come out with them in the first place. With how nervous the bot was the other solar cycle after the fight, Jazz had been sure that he would have to spend some time in convincing Dunce to come out. But, the nervous bot had agreed and come out. Of course, the bot had become nervous again when he had mentioned Dunce getting an alt mode so Jazz hadn't pushed the subject. He would one of these solar cycles but he had to take it slow with Dunce.

"We have an appointment with Sari if you could send for her." Prowl answered the secretary bot. Oops, Jazz had forgotten to answer it. Thankfully, Prowl had his back.

Not two clicks later, Sari came out of the elevator and activated her jet pack before flying over to them. "Hey guys!" She greeted with a smile.

Stepping up next to Dunce, Jazz motioned to said bot, "Sari, this is Dunce and he is a close friend of mine. Dunce, this is Sari and she was the first organic that I encountered here on Earth."

Sari let out a laugh at that and she said, "And boy were you scared Jazz! I think we still have a video. I'll have to show you that later Dunce. You are going to be laughing yourself silly when you see it." Sari then flew around Dunce and Dunce followed her movements with his optics, before she stopped back in front of him and said, "You're pretty tall for a 'Bot Dunce."

Jazz was slightly nervous when Sari said that so bluntly but, thankfully, Dunce smiled and said, "Well, it just adds to my charm. Plus, your not exactly the tallest around."

She smiled and shrugged her shoulders in response. "Hey, little me is all fun."

She then landed on Dunce's shoulder and Jazz smiled when Dunce laughed. It was rare to get Dunce to laugh like that. Usually, his laughs...and all of his positive emotions, were faked to cover something up. That something was what Jazz wanted to know. Even after all the time that he had been with Dunce, Jazz still couldn't figure the mech out.

"Hey guys, can we go and hang out now?" Sari asked them with a smile.

The three Autobots laughed before nodding and walking out. Jazz smiled when he noticed that Sari was still sitting on Dunce's shoulder. While the mech was very nervous, he seemed to project a sense of security for those smaller than him. Jazz had noticed it the other day when Dunce was around those ten human males. They seemed to hover close to Dunce when the others had arrived, even though they had tried to not make it look obvious. And now, Sari seemed to be drawn to Dunce in the same way, seeing as how she would normally be flying ahead in excitement instead of sitting on a bot's shoulder.

"Jazz," Prowl stated in a whisper slowing so Dunce and Sari were a little ways in front of them, "Dunce seems to be calming down from the other solar cycle. He had seemed so...jittery that I thought that he was going to have to be medically put into recharge by Ratchet."

Nodding, Jazz glanced at Dunce before saying, "He's always been this way. I've noticed that it is worse when Sentinel is around or Sentinel has just been alone with Dunce. I'm not sure what Sentinel is doing but I am trying to find out." Sentinel, while not scaring him personally made Jazz feel scared for Dunce. Dunce had no belief in his own strength and let Sentinel walk all over him. Jazz would give anything for Dunce to stand up for himself against Sentinel...just once.

The stop of talking up ahead caused Jazz to walk up next to Dunce and he saw that the mech had a nervous look on his faceplate. "Dunce, you in there?" Sari asked him while lightly tapping the mech's helm.

It took Dunce a good three clicks before he answered. "We need to move. Now!" Dunce then grabbed Sari off of his shoulder and shoved Jazz out of the way.

Jazz was surprised by Dunce's actions at first but, when a very familiar black and pink seeker flew through where they were previously standing, Jazz realized that Dunce must have heard them coming, a pretense from his nervousness.

"Comm link's not working." Prowl stated as Jazz noticed Megatron and Blitzwing coming down from the sky.

There was only one thing that Jazz could think of that would help them. "Sari, go get the others."

"You got it." Sari agreed before she activated her jet pack and quickly flew off toward the Autobot base.

Once she was a good distance away, Jazz turned to Dunce and said, "We have to make sure that they don't gang up on us. The three of us can hold them off until the others arrive as backup." But, from Dunce's reaction, Jazz knew that Dunce did not believe that and was terrified about this. While the mech was a great bot, Dunce didn't like fighting, anybot. That, unfortunately, included Decepticons.

Before Jazz could tell the mech to do anything, he was distracted by Blitzwing landing by him and engaging him in battle. Jazz growled and tried to avoid Blitzwing but the insane triple changer seemed more focused than he normally was. That wasn't good. Between the swings that he dodged, though, Jazz panicked when he saw that Dunce was once again trying to dodge Megatron as the warlord attacked him.

Glancing at Prowl during another pause, he felt worried when it looked like Starscream was trying to keep Prowl where he was. It was also then that he noticed that Blitzwing was doing the same to him. What were the Decepticons doing? They usually weren't so focused with a plan of attack unless they were attacking with a certain goal in mind. But, what could they possibly be aiming for with this battle. Unless...

During another gap in the fighting, Jazz glanced at to where he had last seen Dunce and Megatron and felt panicked when he could not see either bot. Frag it! They Decepticons had separated them and had isolated Dunce. Megatron had probably noticed Dunce's timidness during the last fight and thought that Dunce would spill the secrets on the Autobots that Megatron wanted. But, it would not do Megatron any good. Dunce was never told anything that the warlord could be interested in. If the Decepticons managed to capture Dunce, Jazz knew that the poor mech would be scarred by the event for the rest of his stellar cycles.

"Vell, vhile zhis has been fun Autobot, _I have to be going now!"_ Blitzwing suddenly stated, drawing Jazz out of his worry for Dunce, and Jazz watched with confusion as both Starscream and Blitzwing transformed and flew off into the sky.

"Jazz, what was that about?" Prowl asked as he ran over.

The white ninja could only stand there in shocked confusion for a click before he realized that Dunce wasn't nearby. "Prowl, we have to," Jazz started but stopped when something broke the treeline and flew into the air. "Dunce!" Jazz yelled out

For, in the grasp of the Decepticon leader, was an unconscious Dunce.

**Megatron's 3rd P.O.V.**

As Megatron flew off toward the Decepticon base, his prisoner unconscious and in his servos, he thought about the surprising success of his plan to capture Dunce. Starscream and Blitzwing were to distract any Autobots that might be with Dunce and the two had surprisingly done a very good job at keeping the cyber-ninjas at bay. Then, while they did that, Megaton was to lure Dunce into the wooded area by the fight and keep the mech distracted enough for Lockdown, who had become a full Decepticon, to administer a sedative to the nervous Autobot.

"Lugnut, prepare the holding cell. The mission was a success." Megatron ordered over the comm link.

It did not take long for the mech to answer. "Yes oh glorious leader." Lugnut then closed the link.

Megatron could not hold back a sigh at what Lugnut said. While it was true that he had insisted on the 'lord Megatron' and various ones similar after he first started the war and before his defeat against Optimus Prime, he now realized how silly that was. He did not want to rule Cybertron when the Decepticons finally won. He wanted to set up a fair government system that would not be as easily corrupted and a force that would stop the corruption when it arose. But, he had become power hungry and ruined the chance that he had to really start that earlier. Now, he had to make up for lost time.

Drifting closer to Starscream, Megatron said, "When we get to base, I want you to get a cube of energon ready for our guest. We do not want him to feel like he is going to be hurt by us."

"That makes sense, since we are trying to convert him to our side." Starscream stated before silence filled their flight again. Well, that was until Starscream asked, "Megatron, we need more information on Dunce. There is still a large chunk of his history that is not on file. Are we gong to ask him about that?"

Megatron shook his helm. "Not at first. We want him to feel comfortable around us. If I am not in there with him, than it will be you and we need to make sure that he is relaxed. So, let him ask the questions at first. It will give him a feeling of comfort before we question him. It will most likely take a while to get him to talk but we have to go at his speed. He is our best bet of converting an Autobot at this click and, if we convert him, then, I have a feeling that we may be able to get that white cyber-ninja."

It did not take long for Starscream to answer. "That makes sense. I'll make sure to get him his cube." Starscream then flew on ahead.

That, of course, left Megatron with his thoughts. The mech in his servos right now seemed so different than the other Autobots. And, Megatron was determined to find out why. So, when they finally arrived at the base, Megatron touched down before carrying Dunce inside. They were using a different cave than they were last time that the Decepticons were on Earth but it was still close to Detroit and, like last time, it had an ample supply of carbon deposits to mask their energy signatures. So, overall, a pretty decent headquarters on Earth.

When Megatron walked down the hall, the Autobot laid out across his arms, Megatron couldn't help but wonder what would happen if the mech woke up. Of course, given the mech's nervous nature, a look of fear would probably come onto the mech's faceplate. After that, well, that was anybot's guess. He didn't have enough information on Dunce to know how the mysterious mech would react. Hopefully, Megatron would find those answers during Dunce's time there.

Turning a corner, Megatron saw that Lugnut was standing by Dunce's holding cell. "I have prepared his cell oh wonderful leader."

Megatron let out a sigh at the use of the term and decided that then was the right time to correct that. "Lugnut, you have been loyal to me ever since I first started my campaign to end the corruption of the Autobot council. When I first started, I did not want a title, and simply went by Megatron. I wish for that to be the case again. While being kept prisoner by the Autobots was a dreadful experience, it did remind me of why I started the war in the first place and that was to bring equality back to Cybertron. Please, from now on, address me as Megatron; nothing more."

Lugnut stared at him in shock before nodding and saying, "I knew that you would return to your beliefs Megatron. That is why I stayed loyal to you."

Shock filled Megatron's systems when Lugnut responded like that. He had been so used to Lugnut preaching his name wherever he went that he had forgotten how Lugnut actually acted before that time. Lugnut wasn't the over-glorifying type that he had portrayed during Megatron's power mad time, but a calm and dangerous Decepticon. The purple bomber only took to sounding like that to reflect the change as he said he would if Megatron ever changed his ways. Megatron still remembered that solar cycle like it was just the other solar cycle.

Flashback

_Explosions rocketed the small area that the Decepticons were using as a base. The Autobots had them cornered and there was not much hope of them winning this battle but Megatron and his top lieutenants were around a table looking at a map to see if there was any way to get out of the jam they were in._

"_If our larger troops could hold the Autobots back, then the rest of our troops could escape through the pass." Starscream observed._

_Megatron glanced at the map and saw that Starscream was correct. But, there were not that many large troops that could hold the line. He, Lugnut, Strika, and some of their lower-ranking troops would be all that would hold the front line. Hopefully, it was enough. "Sounds like a plan to me." Megatron stated before he turned to the others. "Prepare your squadrons to make a retreat. When we start our attack, get out of here." _

_All of his lieutenants nodded and most of them left the room. Well, all except for Lugnut, who Megatron motioned to stay behind. "Is there something you need before we go into battle Megatron?" Lugnut asked._

_Nodding, Megatron said, "I fear that I may, one solar cycle, turn into the very sort of being that I am wishing to rid Cybertron of. If I do, I am counting on you to show me that I am doing so."_

_The two large Decepticons stood in silence for a click before Lugnut responded. "I believe that I know the way to. If you ever turn into that which you hate, I will turn into the kind of soldier which you cannot stand. The kind of soldier that is ever glorifying his lord and master and continuously trying to win his approval."_

_That sounded like a good plan. If there was one thing that Megatron could not stand, it was that of his fellow, equal Cybertronian brothers and sisters calling him 'lord' or 'master'. If Lugnut did that, surely he would see the error of what he was doing. "That is a very good plan Lugnut. Now," The leader then took out one of his swords before saying, "Let's meet the Autobots in battle together."_

_Lugnut nodded and the two large Decepticons left the bunker, heading toward the front line._

End of Flashback

Nodding, Megatron glanced at Lugnut. "Thank you Lugnut. Now, I need to get our guest settled before he awakens. Starscream will be by with his energon momentarily."

Lugnut nodded in response before he walked down the hall. That was a good sign. The Decepticons were coming closer together and, soon, they would be strong enough to challenge the Autobots again...once they bolstered their numbers slightly. And that part of their plan would start with Dunce.

Walking into Dunce's holding cell, Megatron gently laid Dunce down, so as to not wake him, before he stood to his full height and stared at the still Autobot. Something about how he was laying bothered him. Megatron wasn't sure why, but it seemed like Dunce seemed nervous even in his recharge. Shaking his helm, Megatron walked out of the cell. He would find out more about the young mech when Dunce was ready to talk.

"Is he still out?" Starscream asked as he walked in, a cube of energon for Dunce in his servo.

Nodding, Megatron glanced back at the Autobot. "Yes. Place his cube on the table by his berth. Then, if you wouldn't mind, stand guard and call me when he wakes up. I wish to talk to him personally."

Starscream bowed his helm, "Of course. And, may I just say that it is a pleasure to have you back Megatron. 'Lord' Megatron never was quite the same as you." He, of course, smiled at the end of that.

Megatron simply shook his helm before walking toward his throne room. Starscream seemed to be returning to the way that he was before the power-hunger took over the Decepticons. He was still sarcastic, but Megatron could tell that there was true loyalty in Starscream now.

That was not the only thing that came to Megatron's processor as he walked though. Strangely, it was an old tune that he had heard while in the gladiatorial ring. It was quite old, so old that the words were long forgotten. But, the tune had survived. He found himself humming the haunting tune and he thought of his life so far.

Growing up in the mines, a mech without a name, had been a rough life. He thought he could make it better by entering the gladiatorial arena so he did. While there, he became popular among the other Cybertronians like himself; degraded, treated as less than equal as the 'higher class' leaders and noble-bots, starving and scrounging for energon to survive while the higher class stuffed themselves sick with excess energon, and nervous as to what would happen if they stood up. Well, he had taken the step past the nervous fears and entered the world of politics.

"Megatron, what are we going to do now?" Shockwave asked, interrupting Megatron's humming and his thoughts of days long gone.

Staring at Shockwave, Megatron could only give one answer.

"This is a risky chance but, like the other risky moves I have made in my existence, it will be worth any hardships if it pays off. We must wait for Dunce to wake up. Once he does, then it starts."

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**Megatron: What I wouldn't give for this to work.**

**Authoress: *interested* Really?**

**Megatron: *frowns* Don't go there Authoress.**

**Authoress: Drats! *rips up plans of universal domination using the Decepticons as her scapegoats***

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**AN: Hey everyone! Hope you all liked the new update. Looks like I've been playing around and I changed a few things. And look at Lugnut! He can actually talk without over-glorifying Megatron! *le shock* Anyways, I hope this chapter was nicely spaced. I was having difficulty writing it at first but I think it turned out alright. Before I go, I want to give a warning; with me, the little details can be the biggest hints. So, pay attention when I write. Something that might seem insignificant in one part of the story could change the course of history in another. With that, I leave you now and hope that you please take time and review, even if it is to say hi. =)**


	5. Small Talk

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

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**Dunce: Why do you have to do this to me Authoress? *gives saddest look in any dimension***

**Authoress: *holds back tears* Don't do that to me Dunce! I have my reasons.**

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Ch. 5: Small Talk

As I slowly came out of recharge, I was confused. The berth beneath me felt more...comfortable than the one that I normally slept on. Plus, there seemed to be a small echo in the room because I heard it as I moved on the comfortable berth. Where was I? Did I end up back at the Autobot warehouse and their berths were more comfortable? Realizing that there was only one way to figure out my answers, I onlined my optics.

And internally panicked.

I was not on the Steelhaven nor was I at the Autobot warehouse. As the most recent events of my life came rushing back to me, I realized, with dread, exactly where I was; the Decepticon base.

"This can't be happening." I whispered to myself in fear. Why had _I_ been captured? I didn't know anything about Autobot plans or security. I was useless to them. Frag, most bots on Cybertron wouldn't care that I was in this mess. The only ones who would were Jazz, maybe Blurr, and Optimus' team on Earth. And they didn't have the authority to negotiate with the Decepticons, if the Decepticons even opened negotiations for my release.

Tales of torture stories I had heard came to my processor at the thought of the Decepticons and I could not hold back a shutter. I wasn't trained to be in this situation...well, I wasn't really trained in anything but I at least had personal experience in some things; hostage situations not one of them.

Heavy pedesteps coming down a hall echoed off of the walls and caused me to shrink back against the wall, pedes up on the berth and knees pulled against my chest plate. I had a feeling who the bot was and I was scared to be interacting with the mech. Since I was a prisoner, there was one bot that would have to come by sooner or later and I had a feeling that the time for that was now.

"Ah, I see you are awake. Good." I was right as Megatron said that when he stopped in front of my cell doors. I just stared at him, scared out of my circuits. If I thought that Sentinel hit hard, then I couldn't imagine what sort of power Megatron could pack behind his hits. I shivered at the mere thought. "Can you speak?"

Realizing that I needed to answer or risk getting the Decepticon leader angry, I slowly nodded. "Y...yes sir."

A look crossed his faceplates that I couldn't identify. "I am Megatron, as I am sure you know. What is your name?"

I started to feel nervous about this line of questioning. I didn't expect this sort of questioning. Megatron was acting...nice. It was so radical from the tales that I had heard in the past that it took me a click to realize that Megatron was waiting for an answer. "I'm...I'm Dunce."

"Dunce." Megatron repeated, seeming to think, before saying, "How often have you been off of Cybertron?"

My chassis was not shaking because I felt a large wave of confusion, otherwise I was sure that I would be shaking like a tremor. Where were the questions about the Autobots? Why was I being asked about these things. "This is my first time sir." I answered softly. I was going to try as hard as I could to not offend Megatron if I could help it.

But, the same look that I had seen earlier crossed Megatron's faceplates for a quick second and it was starting to make me nervous. But, at the same time, I found that it was pretty easy to talk to Megatron...so far. He hadn't shown the temper that was infamously spread throughout the Autobots and I was going to do everything that I could to make sure that I didn't see it. "Really, you have never been off of Cybertron before now?"

I was shocked to hear the sound of surprise in Megatron's vocals. Why was that such a surprise for him. "Yes." I answered him.

"That's quite unusual." Megatron commented, seemingly more to himself than to me. "Well, I am curious about why the Autobots would let such a skill-full mech be cooped up on Cybertron all of this time."

What? I wasn't skill-full. "I'm not that good. I was even taken out of boot camp and made to serve as Sentinel Prime's assistant. I'm worthless. I still don't see why you took me. The Autobots never told me anything about anything. There is nothing in my processor that would be of an interest to you." And as soon as I said that, I regretted it. I had just told the leader of the Decepticons that he was wrong and that I was right. I was so slagged.

When Megatron let out a laugh, I felt confusion. He wasn't going to come in here and beat me? "You are more skilled than most Autobots I have met. Not many Cybertronians can say that they were able to continuously dodge my strikes or even deflect them like you did during our two encounters. As to your information on the Autobots, I am not interested in that. I am curious about you. From all the Autobots that I have encountered, and that is quite a few, you are different. Why?"

Now I was panicked. Megatron wasn't holding me for information on the Autobots? What could he possibly see in me that would make him want to find out more? Didn't he have enough information from the information he most likely acquired from spies in the Autobots or his own hackers delving into Autobot records? I now could stop myself from shaking in fear and took a risk to ask, "Can you please just leave me alone?"

My shaking increased when Megatron straightened from his normal stance, staring at me through the bars, and for a nano-click, I thought he was going to start yelling and I felt myself bracing for it. Instead, to my greatest shock, Megatron simply nodded. "Of course. You are still getting use to being here. I will leave you to get settled." Then, to my continued surprise, Megatron simply walked out.

What the frag was going on? I had pretty much just told Megatron, leader of the Decepticons, to do something and he had listened. If I had done something even half like to Sentinel, I would have been beat until I couldn't move. Something was going on here and I felt like it was not going to be like anything I had ever experienced before. Why was this happening to me?

The sound of humming coming from around the corner had me pausing in my inner thoughts. I could tell that it was not Megatron, for the tone of the voice was higher than Megatron's, but the tune sounded familiar. It was something that was repeated in many circles in the Autobots and Plena Teo had taught me the tune when I still lived with him. According to him, it was an ancient tune that, while the words were lost, the tune was still alive. It was popular during the gladiatorial times and had spread during the Great War. Plena Teo, though, had heard it before all of that, back when he was a youngling, by a teacher of great age. This teacher, which Plena Teo could not remember their name, had known the words but had failed to pass them along. All Plena Teo could ever remember was the solemn tune. It must have been important though, because Plena Teo had said that he did remember that the teacher had not liked to sing, but had always made an exception for that specific tune.

Shaking my helm, I laid back down at stared at the ceiling above me. The only thing that I needed to think about was how I was going to survive this...if I was.

**Megatron's 3rd P.O.V.**

As he walked out of the holding area, Megatron actually felt pretty accomplished with his talk with Dunce. While the mech had acted far more fearful than he was even expecting, at least the Autobot had answered some of his questions. But, there were still so many more that he had and even more questions were added. With Dunce's confirmation that he had never left Cybertron, that made Megatron even more curious as to why the Autobots would keep the mech planet bound. Also, why would the Autobots lead the young mech to believe that he was weak? The leader of the Decepticons had not been exaggerating in saying that few Autobots could have dodged his attacks and deflected them like this Dunce had. All the ones that could, including the mech, could be counted on one servo. Yet, the Autobots did not train those abilities in the mech and, instead, kept him untrained. Why?

"Megatron, how did the talk go?" Lockdown asked as he joined in pace next to Megatron.

Looking down at the Decepticon next to him, Megatron sighed. "It went better than I had expected but it has just caused me to burn with more questions. This mech has not been trained by the Autobots and yet he was able to do so much even against me. And I have a feeling that the Autobot leaders know that Dunce could become even more powerful than I. It might be why they don't train him. They could fear him." Megatron then cast a look back at the holding cells before saying, "I feel like the Autobots keep this mech down, fear ever constant in his life, so he won't see what he could become."

Lockdown nodded. "It would not be the first time that the Autobots have done this. It was quite popular to do that in the arenas and slums to keep bots who had exceptional fighting skills down and away from the idea of a revolt." He then let out a smirk. "Of course, that didn't stop you."

And Lockdown made on connection for him. Dunce was similar to how he was during his early solar cycles in the gladiatorial arena. Megatron did as he was told and did not argue, even when treatments and rules seemed unjust. The fear of the lash and starvation kept most from standing up. Thankfully, Megatron had made a friend in the higher class and that friend had helped him realize his goals.

His thoughts of the past were halted when the two of them walked into the throne room. On the monitors, Megatron could see the reactions of the Autobots as they went along with their normal lives. It was strange, seeing how each one reacted. He didn't expect much from the team of Optimus Prime because they had barely known the mech but Megatron could see some concern in the actions of the techno-organic and the cyber ninja Prowl. Of course, the other Autobots on that team had seemed concerned. Optimus seemed like he was trying to figure out a way to retrieve Dunce, the young scout Bumblebee seemed distracted from his usual annoying activities, the space bridge expert Bulkhead seemed to be painting his painting with darker colors, and the medic Ratchet and the ex-intelligence agent Arcee seemed to be discussing something in the medical bay.

It was the reactions of the team from Cybertron that Megatron noticed the most in though. Blurr, the blue speedster, seemed to be confused with how things were happening and had been out racing for hours. Jazz, the white cyber-ninja who had been there when he had taken Dunce, seemed angry. It was strange to see a cyber-ninja losing their composure like this one was. They usually had more control of their emotions. Dunce must have meant a lot to the white ninja. Finally, Megatron took note of Sentinel Prime's reaction. The mech seemed concerned, though not for Dunce's well-being. From the mech's chassis language and how he was walking, Megatron was almost sure that the mech was more worried about what Dunce would say.

But, Dunce had said that he had no information about the Autobots and Megatron was sure that the fearful mech was not lying. So what could the Prime be so nervous about? It made little sense. Once Dunce had some time to relax again, Megatron was going to go in there and see if he could convince Dunce to tell him why the Prime was so nervous about his capture. Maybe that was the key to unlocking Dunce? Megatron wouldn't know until the nervous mech opened up and he was going to give Dunce the time to do just that.

Heavy pedesteps had Megatron turning his attentions from the screen and to the entrance were he saw Blitzwing walk inside. "Yes Blitzwing?"

Blitzwing bowed his helm slightly before saying, "I heard zhat Dunce vas more open zhen you had been expecting. I had an idea."

His curiosity peeked, Megatron motioned toward the triple changer before saying, "What is that?"

"Vell, Dunce might feel a little intimidated by you because of your rank as our leader. I believe zhat I might be able to help Dunce open up a little more. _And ve can have so much fun!"_ Blitzwing suggested.

While that sounded like a reasonable idea, Megatron had one problem with that. "Blitzwing, why do you believe that you will have better luck? And would you be able to control your personalities while talking to Dunce? The Autobot has a delicate processor balance right now as it is and if he is yelled at by your anger side, then you could undo all that we are trying to accomplish with the young mech."

That seemed to cause the triple changer to pause for a nano-click before his anger personality came out and said in a surprisingly calm voice, "**I understand zhe situation Megatron, and I am villing to allow Icy and Random control vhen ve are near zhe Autobot.**"

It was probably because of how calmly the anger side answered that Megatron made up his processor. "Very well Blitzwing. But you will be monitored and, if Dunce starts to become more nervous around you, then let him be and leave. We cannot risk him believing us to be the monsters the Autobots say we are. We must show him that what he has been taught has been a lie."

Blitzwing nodded once before he said, "Zhank you for zhe opprotunity Megatron." Blitzwing then walked out of the room. Most likely going to prepare for his talk with Dunce.

Sitting on his throne, Megatron thought about how this talk was going to go. Maybe Blitzwing had a point in what he said. From the footage that they had seen of the Autobot and his interactions, he seemed to become more nervous around those in authority. Blitzwing, not being a leader, might be able to reach Dunce like the Autobot Jazz seemed to on the tapes. But, there was only one way to tell. Turning on the security feed to the holding cell, Megatron watched the young Autobot who held so many mysteries. Soon, those secrets would be out and, maybe, they would be able to convince the mech how twisted the Autobots mainly were.

**Dunce's 1st P.O.V.**

It had been maybe five cycles since I was visited by Megatron and that had given me a lot of time to think. Of course, I had never even pictured myself being conscious enough to think, being a Decepticon prisoner, but there were a lot of things happening today that were messing with my processor. My entire existence, I had been brought up to believe, by other Autobots, that the Decepticons were evil and vicious and would torture me the click that they captured me. But, it had been _cycles_ now and the Decepticon leader had only talked to me. And frankly, he had been nicer than most Autobots were to me. What was going on with my life? Everything seemed to be turning upside down.

The sound of a different set of heavy footsteps had me sitting up from my laying down position. I had learned, during my time on Cybertron, to distinguish the differences in each bot's pede steps and that had saved me from a beating quite a few times. So, I knew that the owner of the pedes approaching my cell were not Megatron. Who could it be?

I felt nervousness creep into my systems when I saw the triple changer known as Blitzwing walk in, a seat in his servos. What was he doing? I had heard from the Autobots that he was a very unstable mech and that he could go from talking to you calmly one click to screaming at you, to laughing at insane randomness in the next. What did this mech want with me?

"Hello. My name is Blitzving." Blitzwing introduced. "You are Dunce, correct?"

I could hear the accent in his vocals and realized that he must have problems pronouncing his 'w' sound. It was interesting. "Yes." I answered, nodding as well to answer both vocally and visually. Doing both had served me quite well over the past. Blitzwing, while imposingly tall and strong looking, didn't seem to exude the same air that Megatron had and so I bucked up my courage and asked one question. "Blitzwing, are you an officer?"

When the triple changer's faceplate spun, I jumped so high that I thought I was going to hit my helm on the ceiling above me. I had heard of his personalities and I wasn't sure I could handle his hothead personality. Thankfully, it landed on the black faceplate that was known as his random one. _"Nope, just a really good friend to zhe big bots."_

His smile was infectious and I couldn't help but smile back. I wasn't sure why, but I felt like I was around Jazz when Blitzwing's Random personality talked to me. The others seemed so...serious. Jazz had a kind of fun flow to him that Random seemed to exude.

"That has to be hard at times." I responded, my chassis relaxing slightly. "I can imagine how hard it is to live with all of the tension that is around." I knew I was taking a risk but I wanted to see how Random would react. He seemed different.

Random let out a laugh and said, "_It's not as bad as you zhink little Autobot. It actually has been nice since Megatron changed. He used to be all 'I am going to rule zhe vorld vith an iron fist' after zhe fighting got bad on Cybertron during zhe great war. But, after ve all spent some time in zhe Trypticon prison on Cybertron, Megatron has gone back to his happy self."_ Random smiled a huge smile at the end of that.

And now I just had more questions than answer. What was Random talking about? Was this some sort of trick? Were they trying to make me feel sympathetic toward them because of Random's sparkling like nature? I was so confused. What was going on to everything around me? Why was I even here in the first place? And, the most important question; why was everyone being so nice here?

"Why are you being so nice?" I asked hesitantly, my nervousness returning.

Blitzwing's faceplate turned again and I steeled myself against the chance of Hothead coming out and yelling. But, thankfully, Icy was the one that came out. "Ve are very nice. You should not believe everyzhing zhat you hear."

His words struck a cord with me but my nervousness caused me to shrink back and I turned my back to the triple changer and said, "You're wrong! Just let me be."

To my surprise, I heard a sigh come from the triple changer before he walked out of the room, taking his seat with him. Something weird was definitely going on here. None of the Decepticons had shown the anger or aggression that their faction is known for. It was like someone had turned the reality of things upside down and was watching how the world was changing. And, of course, I had some how ended up right in the middle of it.

**Jazz's 3rd P.O.V.**

As he meditated in the park, Jazz could not keep his processor clear. Whenever he got close, thoughts of Dunce would overwhelm his trance. How could he have been such a fool? Decepticons never fought fairly unless it was for some strange need. And Megatron wouldn't come out into the battle unless he had been intrigued by something. Jazz had seen how Megatron and Dunce had interacted during their first fight and that should have been a large hint that there was more to come. But, Jazz hadn't seen it. He had focused solely on Dunce and what was going on with the nervous mech's personal problems that he hadn't seen the larger picture until it was too late.

Now, he had no idea what sort of interrogation techniques the 'Cons were using on poor Dunce.

"Jazz, you seem distracted."

Jazz jumped up and turned to the door to see Prowl standing there. He was losing his touch. "I'm just worried about Dunce Prowl. He can barely handle the Autobots. Can you imagine how he is handling the Decepticons?"

To Jazz's surprise, Prowl nodded. "Actually, I think he is better equipped than you give him credit for. Dunce's nervousness and anti-fighting stance will allow him to keep the Decepticons placated for a while. It is the very nervousness that you are worried about that will be his strongest weapon while he is with the Decepticons."

He hadn't thought about it like that. Jazz had been so worried that Dunce was going to be tortured that he forgot how Dunce could use his passive nature to his advantage while in Decepticon servos. While he hated to even think this, maybe Dunce was the best bot to be taken. If it had been him or Prowl, Jazz knew that they would have gotten on the Decepticon's last nerve by that point. If it had been Sentinel, well, Jazz was sure the 'Cons would have thrown the Prime back to them do to his annoying personality...if you could count that as a personality. "Your right Prowler. Dunce is going to be just fine. He knows when to keep his vocals quite."

"Unlike you Jazz." Prowl retorted with a glare.

Jazz smirked because he knew that Prowl wasn't happy about the use of the nick name. But he had fun with it. "Ah, you know you like it Prowlie." When Prowl's glare deepened, Jazz decided that this was a good time to change the subject. "So, want to go see if we can't find a trace of the 'Cons?"

His friend stared at him for a few clicks before nodding. "Sure, and it will help you calm your mind." Prowl then transformed and put on his soliform.

Following suit, Jazz transformed and the two of them drove toward the direction that the Decepticons had been seen to take Dunce. Thinking about Dunce again made Jazz think about that day. He had meant to ask Dunce about the dent on his back but had not had the time to because they were enjoying the peace and Dunce had seemed more nervous than normal. Something suspicious was going on between Sentinel and Dunce and Jazz wanted to know what it was for certain. Oh, he had his suspicions but he had no evidence that he could take to the council.

The two of them searched until it grew too dark out to see without their headlights. When that time came, they said their goodbyes to each other and, while Prowl went back to the warehouse, Jazz decided to go and see if he could find anything in Dunce's room. That should hold some answers. He had never looked into Dunce's personal things because he felt like it was the only part of the bot that he had for himself. But, with the Decepticons now in possession of Dunce, Jazz figured that something in there might help them to locate his friend.

When he arrived at Dunce's room, Jazz wasn't too surprised to see that it was pretty bland. It almost looked like no bot was using it. Thankfully, there were a couple of things. Nothing personal in sight though. That didn't surprise Jazz though. If there was something going on between Sentinel and Dunce, then Dunce might keep personal things hidden. So, Jazz began his search for Dunce's personal items in the normal places. Under his berth, secret panel in the wall, in the nightstand by the berth, and even in a small travel trunk that Dunce had. Said trunk had held something interesting, if not personal. There was a couple of medical kits and one looked like it had been used lately. Jazz would have to take a look at it later. It wouldn't be long before Sentinel called in wondering where the frag he was.

Just when Jazz was about to give up, he noticed something strange with the nightstand. It seemed to be smaller inside than it should have. That gave him an idea so he pulled the stand away from the wall and smirked when he saw that there was a small thread attached to it. "Found ya." Jazz smirked before he pulled the thread lightly.

But, when the flap came down, there was only one thing inside. Gently taking out the photo screen, Jazz was interested as to what sort of pictures Dunce would carry around and hide. So, he did what any curious bot would do; he turned it on.

When the first picture came on, Jazz laughed when he saw a picture that he had taken of himself for Dunce. He had been sure that Sentinel would have found out about it but Dunce seemed to be better at hiding things than he thought. He then scrolled to the next picture.

"Hm, must be Dunce's creators." Jazz muttered. When he had first heard that Dunce had been created by two bots instead of coming from the Well, he had been shocked. But, once he had learned it as the truth, it just added another piece to the mystery that was Dunce.

The two mechs in the picture were quite small, which made Jazz curious as to how they had dealt with a mech as large as Dunce. The mech on the right, who would only be around Bumblebee's height was colored green with white stripes going down his sides. His alt mode was a sports car. Below the mech were the words 'Shamrock-Carrier'. So, that was the mech that had carried Dunce's spark until it was ready to detach, if he had learned that right.

The mech on the left, who was around Jazz's own height, was colored blue and gold with silver markings on his wings, which of course made him a flier. The mech seemed to have a jet mode much like Starscream's, but at a much smaller scale. Below the mech were the words 'Poseidon-Sire'. So, that meant that Poseidon was to Dunce as human males called 'fathers' were to their offspring.

Seeing that Dunce's sire also had a flying alt mode also told him that Dunce's creators were most likely neutrals, since none of the fliers joined the Autobot side and there was not a Decepticon insignia on either of their chassis.

From the number in the top corner, Jazz could see that Dunce only had one picture left. "Wonder who it is?" Jazz muttered to himself before he turned the picture over to the final one on the photo screen. When Jazz saw the mech on the final screen, he stared in realization. The mech was none other than Plena Teo. While Jazz had never met the old mech personally, he had heard that Plena Teo used to be one of the best trainers on all of Cybertron, even did some training in Kaon for their gladiatorial fights back before the Great War. Plus, not only did he train, he was also a smithy. Plena Teo had made some of the best defensive tools for the Autobot war effort that they had.

Plena Teo must be a friend to Dunce, for Dunce to hold onto his photo like that, and the old mech probably also taught Dunce how to dodge and deflect blows before the nervous mech went to boot camp and got stuck with S.P.

"_Jazz! Report to the warehouse immediately!" _Sentinel yelled at him over the comm line before closing it.

Jazz sighed but carefully turned off the photo screen and placed it back into Dunce's hiding place before he placed the stand back against the wall. As he walked out of Dunce's room and outside, Jazz could admit one thing; Dunce might be a nervous mech, but he could also be very careful. If Jazz hadn't had training in spec ops, then he would have never thought to look behind the night stand for a secret compartment. He also doubted that Sentinel would ever look there for the item.

Glancing up at the star filled sky of Earth, Jazz let out a sigh before a tune came to his helm. It was quite old and the lyrics had been lost to time, but it was surprisingly soothing all the same. It gave him hope and also helped him to relax. As Jazz hummed, he smirked as an image of Prowl painted like him popped into his helm. Maybe he could get Bumblebee and Sari on that?

* * *

**Authoress: I feel a prank coming on! *smiles***

**Jazz: What can I say? When you can do something, you have to have fun and do it.**

**Authoress: Well, I guess we shall see, won't we?**

**Jazz: *smirks and nods***

* * *

**AN: And here is another chapter for this story! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter and I hope that you all enjoyed it. Yes, Dunce's creators were/are both mechs. I wanted to have something fun so I thought that would be its, since I usually have my main OCs have a mech sire and a femme carrier. Next chapter is going to have some more interactions between Dunce and the 'Cons as well as a surprise. Wonder if you can guess? XD Well, until next we meet, please drop by and give a review, even if it is to say hi to me. =D**


	6. Slippery Slope

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Jazz: So, did anyone catch the match the other solar cycle?**

**Prowl: What match?**

**Jazz: The match between the Authoress and the dishes. It was quite amusing.**

**Prowl: Who won?**

**Authoress: I did. *walks off***

**Jazz: *whispers* Barely.**

**Authoress: *yells from the distance* I heard that Jazz!**

* * *

Ch. 6: Slippery Slope

**Starscream's 3rd P.O.V.**

As he paced the throne room, Starscream thought. He thought often but these thoughts were different. The mech, Dunce, was not assimilating like they had thought he would. It had now been three solar cycles since the young Autobot had come to their possession and yet, the mech only felt comfortable talking to Random of all bots. It confused him greatly and, when Blitzwing was gone, Dunce was jumpy, nervous, and scared. During the early fighting, Starscream had seen this enough to know that something was going on with the Autobots that was more secretive than normal.

How did he know this? Well, back during the fighting, he had been charged with a group of seekers to search battlefields for any bot who was still alive. Most times, they found injured Decepticons that were too stubborn to go offline. But, there were a few times where they had come across online Autobots.

One particular case that seemed to match Dunce came to his processor. They femme was a medic for the Autobots and she had been hurt by a land mine. When he and the medic that accompanied his squadron approached her, she reacted just like Dunce was; scared of him but more accepting to the medic. So, he had stayed back while the medic worked on repairing her. Unfortunately, the femme had offlined due to her wounds. But Stratus, the medic, had informed him that the femme had serious injuries dating back before the war. They had then picked up her mod, which was a whip, and found that it lit up with a black flame when activated. They left the whip with the femme and told the command about the injuries of the femme. Back then though, Starscream hadn't thought much about it.

But now he saw that something was going on. The Autobots seemed to be doing something. For, the look that he saw in the femme's optics so long ago, he was now seeing cloned in Dunce whenever anybot besides Random talked to him. Not even Icy or Hothead, who had come out once or twice...thankfully calmly, could make Dunce feel comfortable. Only Random could. It was strange. But, if his hypothesis was correct, Starscream was sure that if they had a medic currently on Earth, then Dunce would talk to them as well. Medics had a strange air that usually surrounded them that made bots feel calm. That was probably why the femme had let Stratus work on her.

"Starscream,"

Starscream looked up from his thoughts and turned around to see Megatron approach him. "Yes Megatron?"

His leader stopped in front of him before he said, "What have you observed about Dunce from your time guarding the holding cells?"

From what he had observed, there was a lot to report. "Dunce seems to have a deep rooted fear of authority and bots who hold it, no matter how nice they are. Authority scares him. This may have something to do with his time on Cybertron but we will find that out once he starts to open up more." He then paused and said, "Megatron, I was just thinking about the early solar cycles of the war and I remembered encountering an Autobot femme who showed the same nervous actions as Dunce does now."

That seemed to intrigue Megatron because the leader raised an optic ridge. "You've seen this before; when?"

"During the early solar cycles of fighting. Back when you would send me out with a squadron of seekers, with a medic in tow, to find any survivors and help them recuperate. On one of our runs, we found an Autobot femme who had been injured by a land mine. I had tried to approach her and she showed the same fear that Dunce does now. Back then, I had chalked her fear to my being a Decepticon...and the Decepticon second in command at that. But she allowed Stratus, my medic, to approach her and try to save her. Unfortunately, she didn't make it. But, Stratus reported to me that she had serious internal injuries that she had accumulated before the war started."

Starscream watched as Megatron grew a thoughtful look. "And why didn't you mention this earlier? It might have helped in our approach to Dunce."

"I only just remembered it now. The event was so long ago that only Dunce being here has caused me to remember it." Starscream answered immediately. He knew that Megatron wanted to figure out everything that he could about Dunce and the second in command also knew that his memory was going to be able to help Megatron do that.

Megatron let out a sigh before he motioned to Starscream. "Come walk with me."

Nodding, Starscream walked beside Megatron while saying, "I thought you were going to try and talk to Dunce again?" Earlier that solar cycle, Megatron had said that he wanted to try and see if Dunce would relax around him a little more.

"Random beat me there and I don't want Dunce to feel overwhelmed with two of us there. So, I'm going to give it some time and visit him tomorrow. I have already told Blitzwing that I am doing this so he can control Random.

The second in command couldn't stop the smirk that played on his faceplate at that. Over the time that Dunce had been there, Random and Megatron would race to get to Dunce in the morning. It had almost turned into a game for them. It seemed that Random had beaten Megatron there today. "I see."

The two of them walked outside and Starscream noticed rain clouds were gathering, the sky darkening. That meant that they would all be stuck inside for a while, because it was too dangerous to fly with the chance of lightning striking. Starscream had found out that lightning hurt when it struck his chassis and he didn't want to go through that again.

"Starscream, I think that you should tell Dunce the story you told me...after I try to talk to him again. It may just be the story we need to shift the mech's view of us. But, it would be better if you told him because you were there. I wouldn't be able to convey the same emotion about the story as you can." Megatron stated, getting to the reason that they were walking.

A nod was Starscream's answer before he said, "Of course, that makes sense. But, we are going to be causing Dunce to have to take in a lot of information that he probably won't want to hear. Remember, he is loyal to the Autobots still. We have to be careful with him."

"I know." Megatron said after a click.

The second in command and the leader of the Decepticons then walked forward in silence, the thunder rolling ahead. This business with Dunce was going to become a challenge soon and Starscream knew that it was only to start of a storm that was going to change everything that everybot knew. Hopefully, they were ready for it.

**Jazz's 3rd P.O.V.**

Three solar cycles. That was how long Dunce had been in Decepticon servos. And Jazz had yet to find any leads as to where they had taken the mech. He had been hoping that the Decepticons would launch an attack after they took Dunce so he could track the 'Cons to their base and rescue Dunce. But, luck wasn't with him. The Decepticons hadn't made a peep since they took Dunce and it was bothering Jazz.

Of course, during this time, he had been working on his other line of investigation; Dunce's past and why he always acted so nervous. Unfortunately, he had not been able to learn much yet. There wasn't much on Dunce in the Autobot records that he had access to. All he found was basics including where he grew up, which had actually been in Kaon with Plena Teo. While Jazz had suspected that Dunce had lived with Plena Teo from the picture he had seen, the ninja had no idea that Dunce was from Kaon. It was quite a shock actually. Nervous and overly-peaceful Dunce was from Kaon, which used to be the center of fighting strength.

"Hey Jazz; Blurr and I are going racing; want to join us?" Bumblebee asked him from by the exit to the warehouse.

Shaking his helm, Jazz pointed to the monitor. "Sorry 'Bee, monitor duty. Maybe another time?" Well...that was a lie. He didn't have monitor duty per-say. But, he was waiting to hear back from a bot on Cybertron and he wanted to be there when the bot finally called. It was a long shot, but Jazz wanted to see if he could contact a source that would know a lot about Dunce.

Bumblebee shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever you say Jazz." He then transformed before he and Blurr left.

That, of course, left the room almost empty. The only other bot in there was, "You don't have monitor duty Jazz. I do." Prowl commented as he walked next to him.

Jazz motioned to the monitor before saying, "I'm hoping to get a call from Cybertron and I want to be here to get it."

That caused Prowl to lift an optic ridge. "Who from?"

Before Jazz could answer, the console beeped informing them of an incoming call. "You'll see if it came through." Jazz answered before answering.

On the screen, a yellow green bot showed up. Jazz didn't know the femme, but she was not the one that he wanted to contact. "Excuse me, can you connect me to Plena Teo?"

Jazz saw the look of confusion on Prowl's faceplate at that but Jazz couldn't dwell on it as he listened to the femme answer. "He's just in the other room. Just give him a click."

While he waited for the femme to get Plena Teo, Jazz turned to Prowl and saw that his friend had a questioning look on his faceplate. "Who is Plena Teo?"

"I've been doing some digging and Plena Teo raised Dunce after his creators went offline." Jazz informed Prowl.

Realization finally showed in Prowl's visor but, before his fellow ninja could say anything, the mech known as Plena Teo walked on screen. In height, Jazz was sure that Plena Teo was the shorter than Bumblebee, though not by much. Though he was older than Ratchet in age, the mech looked as young as Optimus. Whatever this mech was doing to keep himself looking that good, Jazz wanted to know. "You must be Jazz. I've heard that you've been asking a lot of questions about Dunce lately. I'm only going to assume that you have contacted me to do the same."

That surprised Jazz greatly. He had only contacted a few bots on Cybertron and they had said they would tell anyone he was asking around. Either somebot had spilled or Plena Teo kept tabs on calls. He was going with the latter. "Yes, I was wondering if you could tell me about Dunce's past. Did he get into fights often?"

Plena Teo stood in silence for a click before saying, "I normally don't talk about Dunce with bots I don't know, but Dunce used to send home notes about his time with the Elite Guard and he held you in high regard." Wow, Jazz felt really special. Dunce had appreciated their friendship so much that he had told his guardian how much their friendship meant. "No, Dunce did not get into fights. Bots tried to get him to fight, even going as far as beating him up, but he did not get into fights. There was only one instant that I remember that Dunce ever struck a mech. A bot who was younger than Dunce was being beat up by a group of other mechs and Dunce stopped them. But, once the bullies turned their attention to Dunce and the younger bot got away, Dunce stopped fighting. Why are you asking around about Dunce anyways? Is he in trouble?"

Hesitation crept into Jazz's processor. Should he tell Plena Teo both his suspicions and that Dunce had been captured by the Decepticons? The mech had been open to him and now Jazz felt like he should be open to Plena Teo. "I'm worried because Dunce has been very nervous as of late and I think he is being abused again. I'm not one hundred percent sure but I have a suspicion. Also, I'm worried for Dunce because, a few solar cycles ago, he was captured by the Decepticons."

The old mech's faceplate was unreadable as Jazz watched for his reaction. The mech was very good at hiding his reactions. "I see." Plena Teo finally muttered before he suddenly turned much faster than Jazz would have guessed the old mech could. "Balm! Pack your things. We are taking a trip!"

"Where?" The yellow green femme, who Jazz assumed was Balm, yelled back in a question.

"Earth!" Plena Teo shot back before the old mech returned to the conversation. "Now, since the council and I aren't really seeing optic to optic at the moment, I won't be able to use the space bridges and that will make my trip there take a little longer than I would like. If I had to estimate it, I would say we will be there in thirty solar cycles since we cannot use the bridges. Be ready for us."

But, Jazz had more questions. "Hang on, what can you tell me about Dunce's creators?"

Plena Teo seemed to freeze at that question before he said, "I'll answer whatever questions you want answered when I get to Earth. Until then, keep Dunce safe." The call then ended.

"What did I say?" Jazz asked Prowl, who just shrugged his shoulders. Old bots; they were puzzles to Jazz.

Seeing that there wasn't much else going on, Jazz motioned to the entrance of the warehouse before saying, "Hey Prowl, want to go on patrol after you get off monitor duty?"

Prowl nodded. "That would be fine. But, I have to report to Optimus and say that this Plena Teo and Wheelie are coming to Earth in thirty solar cycles."

A sigh escaped Jazz but he nodded before saying, "Fine, but ask him to not tell Sentinel for a while. I don't want S.P. to know that Plena Teo is coming until he gets closer. I want to see Sentinel's reaction." When Prowl nodded, Jazz sat on the couch and picked up a video game controller that Bumblebee left out. Maybe he could learn to play it a little. That way, he could show Dunce how to play once they freed the mech from the 'Cons.

**Megatron's 3rd P.O.V.**

Megatron shivered slightly as he sat on his throne. It had started to rain when he and Starscream had been out on their walk. Even with their flying back, they had become drenched in the cool liquid and his chassis was only just now drying off and warming up and they had been back a good thirty clicks.

Of course, the talk had been worth the rain. Starscream's remembrance of the Autobot femme had caused him to think back as well to anything similar. Surprisingly to himself, he had. Two other Autobots that he had encountered had shared at least one thing with the femme.

The first had been about mid-way through the war. The mech had been a scout and had the unfortunate luck to cross his path. The two had fought and, while the fight had not lasted long, it had gone on long enough for the mech to pull out two swords, both also having the ability to become engulfed in black flame. But, that was the only thing that mech had in common with the femme in Starscream's story.

The second femme had a slightly different outcome. Right before Megatron had lost his vision, an Autobot femme by the designation of Darkfyre had approached him peacefully and asked to change sides. When he had asked her why, she said that she was tired of the abuse the Autobots inflicted on her from no fault of her own and she wanted to join the Decepticons to fight back against the Autobots. Megatron hadn't denied her and, when she showed off her mods, she had brought out a flame thrower that had black flames as its weapon. Unfortunately, she did not survive her first fight against the Autobots.

But, he had never connected the two situations until Starscream had made his connection. Three Autobots with weapons of black flames, two of which had been beaten, presumably by the Autobots. What were the Autobots doing to their bots? Were they only attacking those with black flamed weapons or were the ones with black flames the only ones being noticed by the Decepticons. Something was fitting, a piece of the puzzle was missing. Once he found it, Megatron knew that everything that was happening would make sense.

"Megatron," the leader glanced up at Shockwave's voice as the spy said, "are we going to be setting up a rotation detail to watch Dunce?"

"No," Megatron started. "I do not think that Dunce will try to escape unless he is one hundred percent sure that he won't get caught and, trying to break out of that cell would wake somebot up and he would be caught. So, I don't think he will try."

Shockwave nodded. "Of course. I am going to get some recharge. What of you?"

Before Shockwave had asked, Megatron had been quite awake. But, once his soldier had asked, Megatron felt his systems grow weary. "I believe that I will as well. This solar cycle has been long and I need to be awake for tomorrow."

He then stood up and walked down toward the sleeping quarters that they had carved out of the cave. Some of his questions would hopefully be answered tomorrow. Until then, he would have to live with his unanswered questions. Once the leader arrived in his room, he laid on his berth and shut down his optics before falling into a deep recharge.

**Dunce's 1st P.O.V.**

I had to get out of here. My helm was swimming with so many thoughts and questions that I couldn't focus. Every time Random came to visit, the mech would say something about the Autobots not being as honest as they seemed or other things. At first, I was completely against any notion that the Autobots were wrong and not the side of good as I had been taught to believe. But, as Random's visits increased, so did my doubt. Random, from the tales that he had told me, was quite the prankster and just like to have fun and someone to have fun with him.

But, it was these thoughts that were plaguing me so much. The Autobots were definitely not the shining warriors that I had envisioned when I was younger. For some reason, many of them liked to pick on the little bots.

"Ugh, I need to get out of here." I groaned, lightly banging my helm against my berth. "Primus, if your out there, how about helping me out of this mess? I'm scared and confused and I can't think around all of these bots who are supposed to be my mortal enemies."

Of course, there wasn't an answer and I was not expecting one. Though, it would have been nice if,

A loud bang echoed in the air around me and I was on my pedes faster than Blurr could have been. Frag it I had made my deity angry. Why did I have to do a stupid thing like that? I already have to deal with Sentinel as well as the Decepticons; I didn't need Primus to have to deal with as well.

When the lights flickered around me, I paused and waited. Was this a Decepticon trick? Was it time for them to come and beat down on me, after I had already let down some of my guard around Random? When the door to the cell creaked open, I stared in shock. Was my luck finally looking up?

Slowly walking forward, I glanced down the hallways before slowly walking forward. So far, so good. I could feel fear creep into my systems. If I got caught, I had a feeling that I would be in serious trouble. So far, the 'Cons had treated me nicely. But, if they caught me before I got away, then they might quit being so nice. However, it was a risk that I needed to take. All of the thoughts that were coming into my helm from being here was just way too much for me to handle. I just needed to get back to my life...even if that included beatings from Sentinel every once in a while. It was what I knew, what I was used to. I couldn't stay here.

So, I continued to walk out of the holding cells and was relieved to see that Starscream was not on guard duty, which meant that everybot was asleep. But, that also meant that I had to be quiet in getting out. So, using my practice of sneaking past Sentinel when I was late, I knew I could sneak away from the Decepticons with ease.

After a few clicks of walking down tunnels, I found myself outside of a cave and into the rain. At first, I shrank back due to tales of acid in rain. But, as I stuck my servo out again, I found that it was not acidic, but quite cooling and relaxing. Seeing that it was safe, I made my way out.

The cool rain bouncing off of my chassis caused me to shiver. While the cell that the Decepticons had kept me in hadn't been bad, it had lacked exposure to the outside making the rain I was feeling feel shocking. But, as I stumbled through the darkness, I soon grew used to the rain and it actually started to feel relaxing.

I let out a gasp of shock as I slid and almost fell. While the rain felt nice, I was sure that walking around with mud in my gears would not feel so nice, especially when it dried. "Just got to keep moving." I muttered to myself repeatedly as I continued forward. I had to get back to the Autobots.

As I walked and muttered, my thoughts went to Jazz. Hopefully, my friend would find me and not one of the others or, worse, Sentinel. I shuddered at the thought of Sentinel finding me first. I doubted that he would be as caring as any of the others would be. I shook the thought of my boss out of my helm and focused back on Jazz. I knew that Jazz was a close friend and that he was probably blaming himself for my capture and was also, most likely worried sick about me. I never did well around authority because they were usually the ones who would yell and beat me when I didn't listen. Hopefully, I could just rest when I returned to the Autobots. I would give my report after I got some recharge. I had been so worried about the 'Cons coming in while I recharged that I hadn't gone into recharge much during those solar cycles.

My pede slipping out from under me caused me to yelp out in shock and I couldn't stop myself as I slid down an hill. Mud, grass, twigs, and an assortment of leaves were sticking to me as my chassis slid against the earth below me. When my motion finally stopped, I struggled to get up and I groaned when I saw the caked mud in the crevises of my armor. I would have stopped to clean myself if I wasn't so worried about the Decepticons finding me. "It's just a little mud Dunce. You just need to get home." I encouraged myself before continuing on.

* * *

**Authoress: And he has escaped!**

**Dunce: I'm thankful Authoress.  
**

**Authoress: I would save your thanks. You never know what is going to happen now. *walks off***

**Dunce: *sighs worriedly* I hate it when she does that.**

* * *

**AN: And here is the next chapter in this story! I hope you all liked it. Bet you didn't think Dunce was getting out that soon. =) Well, he may or may not be heading back eventually but, for now, he is free!...or is he? To another part of the story, it seems like Jazz and Prowl have met Plena Teo and Plena Teo seems concerned about something. But what? Unfortunately for you all, I won't be having Plena Teo and Balm, who I just had to add in, back in the story for quite a few chapters (maybe ten, possibly eleven chapters). Well, that's all I can say for this chapter. Until we meet again my friends, please drop a review...even to say hi or yell at me. I like reactions. =)**


	7. Concern

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Jazz: Knock Knock,**

**Authoress: Who's there?**

**Jazz: Cram,**

**Authoress: Cram a who?**

**Jazz: Authoress, where is the body?**

**Authoress: *confused* What are you?...*facepalms* Seriously cram a person?**

**Prowl: I don't know him.**

**Jazz: Yes you do Prowler. =D**

* * *

**AN: Soundwave looks like he does in Prime (which will be explained in the chapter).**

* * *

Ch. 7: Concern

**Megatron's 3rd P.O.V.**

When the leader of the Decepticons awoke from recharge, he took in a deep intake and felt calm. His recharge had been quite heavy, but it hadn't been without its curiosities. The curiosity that he could remember was a part of his dreams where he was standing next to the young mech currently in their possession, Dunce, and they were staring down at Cybertron. It looked peaceful. But, it wasn't the only thing that Megatron noticed. Dunce looked very confident in his stance and stare and it made Megatron wonder if Dunce could actually end up like that in reality?

Knowing that there was only one way to find out, Megatron stood from where he was sitting and slowly made his way to the brig. Hopefully, Dunce was awake. The leader of the Decepticons was not sure how Dunce would react to wake up and find him standing there. The Autobot was jumpy enough and waking up to him standing there might not help that.

When he arrived at the brig, though, Megatron felt his optics widen. Dunce's cell door was open. But, the lock was electronic. How did the mech escape? Also, why had the mech taken the risk to escape? Dunce hadn't seemed like the type of mech to take the risk unless he was certain he would be alright afterwords.

"Shockwave!" Megatron yelled as he made his way to the throne room. He needed to check the security systems from the previous night.

When he was about half way to the throne room, Shockwave ran next to him. "What's wrong Megatron?"

Motioning back toward the cells, he answered. "Dunce escaped."

The seemingly emotionless mech stumbled when Megatron said that and the leader could assume that Shockwave had made the same assumption about Dunce as he did. "What do you need me to do?" Shockwave asked him.

Once the two of them arrived at the throne room, where Starscream, Blitzwing, and Lockdown already were, Megatron motioned toward the monitor. "Get on the security cameras and see exactly what happened."

While Shockwave did that, the others turned to him. "What is going on?" Lockdown asked.

"Dunce escaped sometime last night and we are trying to find out how and when." Megatron informed them.

He still couldn't believe that Dunce had been able to escape. Of course, they were at fault with that. If he had posted a guard instead of letting them all recharge through the night, then Dunce wouldn't have wanted to escape for not wanting to get caught. That, however, didn't mean that Megatron didn't want to find out what happened.

When the monitor showed the holding cells, Megatron left his current thoughts and watched the scene as it unfolded. For the first cycle of footage, which Shockwave was fast-forwarding, Dunce seemed to be laying on his berth. From the mech's chassis language, Megatron could see that Dunce looked somewhat more comfortable there than he had on the first solar cycle that they had brought him. But, it wasn't at the point of total comfort...yet.

When Shockwave finally played the clip at its normal speed, Megatron watched as Dunce talked to himself. Since they had sound, he knew that Dunce was asking Primus to help him escape so he could think around bots who weren't his mortal enemies. That surprised Megatron. He hadn't thought that they had been making any progress with Dunce. But, from the way that the Autobot was talking, they had made much more of an advance than had been seen.

Thunder and lightning cracked in the audio and, nearly the same instant, Dunce was on his pedes with a scared look in his optics. Must have thought he insulted Primus with his ask for help. But, Megatron was sure it was just luck that the lighting had cracked as soon as Dunce had asked Primus to free him. It was definitely luck when the cell seemed to open. Now he knew what happened. The electricity from the storm must have disrupted the locking mechanism on the cell and had opened the door. They then watched as Dunce escaped out of the cell, cautiously, before he made his way out into the storm.

When Shockwave turned off the footage, they all stayed quiet for a click. Dunce had only escaped out of pure luck.

"Megatron," Megatron glanced at Blitzwing when the triple changer started to talk. "are ve going out now to recapture Dunce?"

If they had not just watched the security feed, then Megatron would be having the Decepticons leave immediately to retrieve Dunce. But, since they had, Megatron knew what had to be done. "No. Dunce needs time away to think about everything we have told him, as he said in the footage. We will wait one solar cycle to allow him to recover from the storm and think Then, we will reclaim him. While Dunce is making progress, we do not want to push him too hard. If we do, then we will not be able to convince him of the truth."

His troops nodded toward him and Megatron was about to dismiss them when the comm system received a ping. Who could be contacting him? "Shall I answer that?" Shockwave asked.

Slowly, Megatron nodded and looked toward the screen as Shockwave answered the call. When it came through, Megatron became confused. The faceless mech on the other side was unknown to him and, from the reactions of his troops, was unknown to them as well. "Who is this?" Megatron demanded.

"Statement: Soundwave reporting, Lord Megatron."

Soundwave? Megatron had to think back a little before he realized who this was. It was the bot that he had helped evolve through the use of the Allspark Key. The mech seemed to have given himself quite an upgrade. "Soundwave, address me as Megatron." Better to get the mech started off on the right pede. "You have changed since I last encountered you."

The mech with a screen for a faceplate nodded slowly before showing clips of what happened. Megatron watched as the the Autobot Optimus Prime defeated Soundwave and a strange guitar bird, which he assumed was Laserbeak from previous encounters, took the remainder of Soundwave, which included his spark, and flew off. Then, they watched as two small mechs, no taller than humans, worked on a new chassis for Soundwave, the one that they now saw. When they were finished, Megatron watched as Soundwave acquired a new alt mode and it seemed like Soundwave had been waiting for his return. "What am I to do Megatron?" Soundwave asked him, using clips of different voices, when the footage stopped.

Megatron smirked and said, "I am sending you the coordinates of our base. Come straight here and do not engage the Autobots. When you arrive, I will debrief you on what the situation is."

The faceless mech nodded once before the line was cut. Megatron allowed a smile to tread on his faceplate While they had lost Dunce, the Decepticons were now one member stronger and that would help out later. Plus, he had no idea what Soundwave was capable of now with his new form and that could add extra help to their cause. Now, the leader of the Decepticons had to wait for Soundwave to arrive.

**James' 3rd P.O.V.**

"James, why did we agree to do this?" Paul Muskogee asked him as they walked along the edge of the woods on the edge of Detroit.

James Maslanka shook his head and said, "Because Nathan wanted us to try this 'scavenger hunt' game of his. Though, how we are going to find a tree in the shape of a dog, I haven't the slightest idea."

Nathan had decided that there group of ten split up in teams of two and see who could get the most pictures by the items on the list in a day. They had been out for about an hour and James and Paul had only found three items; a hotdog stand bot, a couple with a baby, and a guy with purple hair...who they had ditched after taking the picture because he started to rant about Isaac Sumdac like a madman.

Paul kicked a tree branch ahead of them before saying, "How many more items do we have left?"

Turning on his I-Pad and going through his list, James let out a sigh. "Including the tree that looks like a dog; eleven more." As Paul let out a groan of despair, James rescanned the list before saying, "Though by the looks of it, we are looking for the hardest one."

"Really?" Paul asked as he made his way over to him and peeked at the tablet.

Nodding, James said, "Really." He then pointed to the last item on the list. "And look, for the last one, we need to get a picture with an Autobot. Think we could ask Dunce?"

His friend shrugged his shoulders and said, "We'll have to find him first. We don't even know where they are based."

And that was true as well. Since the threat of the Decepticons was always around, the Autobots kept the location of their base a secret, which meant that they had to either find an Autobot, or go to the ship that had shown up a week ago. That ship was kinda hard to hide.

Another thing that James thought of was his past. His grandparents had all come from Poland when they were younger to try for a new life in America. He doubted that they would have thought that wold include their grandson becoming friends with alien robots who lived in the city. But, fate had a funny way of bringing people together.

Something strange caught his eye and James looked up and saw a tree that looked like a dog. "Hey Paul, go stand by that tree. We just found the dog tree."

The look of relief that crossed Paul's face when he said that caused James to let out a laugh as he opened the camera app on his tablet and got it ready. Once Paul was standing by the tree, James snapped the picture and made sure that it was clear. He was relieved that the picture was good. Now, they had to just find the rest...

James furrowed his eyebrows and zoomed in on the picture as he saw something that wasn't setting right.

"What's wrong James?" Paul asked as he came back next to him.

But, James wasn't going to answer the question until he isolated the peculiar spot in the picture. Once he did, he showed it to Paul. "What do you see there?"

Paul leaned closer to the tablet and studied the zoomed in sector before he turned back to the tree and said, "That's metal."

The two of them then jogged over past the tree and, when the arrived in a clearing, James stared in shock. There, laying face-up in the clearing, was Dunce, and he didn't look good. "Paul, go get some signal and text the others. Tell them to find an Autobot and get them down here."

Paul didn't argue and ran closer to the edge of the woods to get some signal. While he was gone, James ran up to Dunce to see if the bot was awake. Unfortunately, James could tell immediately that Dunce was unconscious. What happened to his friend? From the dry, caked mud, leaves, twigs, and grass in-between Dunce's armor, James was sure that the bot had been caught out in the storm the other night. Why?

**Jazz's 3rd P.O.V.**

Jazz laughed as he posed with the humans. When the two boys had walked up to him and Prowl, Jazz had immediately recognized them from when he and Prowl had taken Dunce to the park. So, since they were friends, Jazz didn't hesitate in agreeing to pose for some pictures for their modified game of hide and go seek.

"Hey Nathan, you're up." Riley called to his friend from next to Prowl.

...Yeah, Jazz had convinced Prowl to take photos with them too, though he wasn't as excited about it as Jazz was. Jazz wished that Dunce could be there with him though. It would make all of this so much more fun. But, Dunce was still a prisoner of the Decepticons and so they would have to wait until Dunce was back for that gathering.

The white ninja watched as Nathan handed the small data pad to Riley and start to walk over to Prowl. But, a sound filling the air had the young human stopping and reaching into his pocket for his cell phone. "It's from Paul." Nathan stated. "Probably can't find the tree..."Worry filled Jazz when Nathan let the sentence he was saying go. What did Paul send in the text? It had to be something major because Nathan's eyes widened in shock.

Jazz was about to ask Nathan what was going on when said human suddenly looked up at him. "Jazz, can you track Paul's phone signal?"

Nodding, Jazz started to process using the signal from the message that Nathan had just received. "Yeah, but what's going on?"

"Paul and James found Dunce and, according to Paul, he doesn't look good." Nathan stated.

Shock filled Jazz's systems before he got on his comm. link. "Ratchet, follow my signal. Some humans just found Dunce and they say that he is going to need you."

"_I'm following your signal now."_ Ratchet immediately responded before hanging up.

Not wasting another moment, Jazz and Prowl transformed and Jazz said, "Stay here you two while Prowl and I find them."

The two humans nodded before Jazz sped out of there with more speed than he had used in a while. Dunce had somehow escaped the Decepticons and needed help. Thankfully, the humans who found Dunce weren't far away from their current location and Jazz knew that they would arrive in a few clicks.

The two of them drove in silence until they arrived in a small clearing and came upon the humans Paul and James next to Dunce's chassis.

"By Primus." Jazz heard Prowl whisper.

The first thing that came to Jazz's processor was, surprisingly to him, that there was no way that the 'Cons did this to him. From the area around and the fact that there was a storm the previous night, Jazz knew that most of the damage that he was seeing had come from Dunce trying to escape, most likely in the middle of the night.

Of course, that also caused him to worry. Dunce had been unconscious for an unknown amount of time and that meant that his systems could suffer from his exposure to the storm. Running a scan on Dunce, Jazz was relieved that, not only was the mech online, but besides a low temperature and being unconscious, his scans showed no other problems. Of course, he wasn't Ratchet. Once Ratchet got there, he would be able to take a more thorough scan of the black car mech.

When his comm link cackled to life, Jazz paused in his musings and listened. "_Jazz, this is Ratchet. Prime and I are about two clicks away from your position. Is Dunce in any immediate danger of offlining?"_

"No Ratchet. But, his intakes and seems are caked with dried mud and a variety of things. Also, his core temperature is a little lower than it should be. But, my scanners can't detect anything immediately spark threatening." Jazz responded.

Silence followed on Ratchet's side for a little before the medic said, "_Make sure he isn't moved yet. I will need to take in his situation when I arrive."_ He then cut the line.

Turning back to Dunce, Jazz let out a sigh. That nervous mech seemed to be in the middle of everything these solar cycles. Of course, one of those attentions was his own. Jazz wanted to find out the secrets that Dunce seemed to be hiding. How he got that dent on his back the other solar cycle one of them. Then, he had the attention of the Decepticons and, more importantly Megatron. Though, why they were interested in Dunce, Jazz had no idea. Maybe Dunce would tell them when he woke up. Finally, he had no attracted the attention of the Autobots here on Earth. While Dunce was gone, the others had changed in their routine and Ratchet, Arcee, and Optimus had shown the most worry...besides himself and Prowl of course.

Now, he was just hoping that Dunce would be alright.

**Ratchet's 3rd P.O.V.**

As Ratchet drove through the woods with Optimus behind him, trailer in tow, he couldn't help but be nervous about what condition Dunce was in. While the Decepticons had been relatively passive in the very beginning of the war, they had turned into ruthless, merciless, bots and Ratchet could only hope that Dunce's injuries were not serious from that time. While Jazz had reported that nothing seemed to be wrong from his scans, Ratchet would decide when he scanned Dunce with his own medical scanners to see if the Decepticons had done something to his systems of if Dunce had been really lucky.

When he finally arrived, Ratchet kept driving, though he heard Optimus transform, until he reached the unconscious Dunce. Once he did, he transformed and immediately started scan while, at the same time, he overlooked Dunce's physical state. Surprisingly, from what he could see around the mud and grass, Dunce was relatively uninjured from his time with the Decepticons, from what he could see. Once his scans were done, Ratchet was again surprised. Nothing serious was showing up on his scans. Like Jazz had said, all he really had was a lower temperature than he should have and he would have to clear the mud from the mech's intakes and armor crevices or risk Dunce overheating during the later hours of the solar cycle.

"Optimus, help me get Dunce into your trailer. We need him get back to base so I can get this mud off of him and check for internal injuries." Ratchet ordered as he stood at Dunce's pedes.

Once Optimus was at Dunce's shoulders, the two of them picked up Dunce and set him on a gurney that they had brought back with them from Cybertron when they were last up there. Once Dunce was safe in Optimus' trailer, they all transformed before Jazz said, "I'm going to take James and Paul back to their friends in the park and then I'll be back at the base."

They all then headed out. Ratchet knew that, as soon as they arrived at base, they would have to begin immediate work on Dunce so the mech could have some time to rest peacefully, and not just in an unconscious state. The poor young bot was probably going to be traumatized by his stay. Most bots would and Dunce would be worse because even he could see how nervous the young bot was. As a medic during the Great War, Ratchet had seen the worse injuries and he had seen how many bots handled being in the same situation. Some he had seen were like Dunce, nervous and having been captured by the Decepticons for information returned heavily affected by the experience. Many of those nervous bots had taken their own sparks shortly after because of the grilling the command would give them about the experience. Time needed to be taken while dealing with bots like Dunce.

When they arrived at the base, Ratchet wasted no time in transforming and was relieved to see that Arcee was running out to help them. That meant that they could get to work even faster.

"How serious?" She asked as Optimus let the door to his trailer open.

Shaking his helm, Ratchet said in a relieved voice, "Not as bad as it could have been. But, we have a little work to do."

The two of them then took the gurney and raised it before they started to roll it into the warehouse. From behind them, Ratchet heard the sound of a vehicle pulling up and assumed that it was Jazz, But, the voice that followed, as Arcee was pushing the gurney through the med bay doors, changed that opinion immediately.

"What is going on here?" Sentinel yelled.

Optimus, thankfully, answered the pompous Prime. "Dunce escaped the Decepticons during the storm last night and was just found on the outskirts of the city."

A flash of fear went through Sentinel's optics, one that made Ratchet extremely curious about what the Prime was thinking, before Sentinel said, "I need to hear from him about his captivity before anything happens."

"I don't think so, Dunce is currently in stasis lock and won't be waking up for a while." Ratchet informed the Prime.

Sentinel, however, didn't seem to like that. "Then go and wake him up now! I need to find out about the situation before he forgets or clams up."

Ratchet narrowed his optics at the Prime before saying, "I'm only going to say this once young bot, so listen up. Seeing as I am the only medic on this planet, I outrank you in this situation and I am _not_ going to wake him up just so you can grill him. It might cause him to snap. So, you just keep your vocals on mute until I give you clearance to speak with him and, from his injuries, that is going to be at least a solar cycle."

The Prime seemed to shock to speak or move so Ratchet walked through the med bay doors. Before Sentinel could snap out of his shock, Ratchet locked the door.

That seemed to snap Sentinel out of his shock. "You unlock this door right now or I am going to have you court marshaled!" A pause followed, "Do you hear me?"

"Blow it out of your exhaust port." Ratchet grumbled before approaching the med berth where Arcee was already at work cleaning the mud off of Dunce. "Good, you've cleared the area around his chest plates. I am going to have to look inside to make sure that the Decepticons didn't damage anything internally and just fix him on the surface." Arcee nodded, most likely in thanks, for the warning, before moving down to work on cleaning out Dunce's knee joints.

While she did that, Ratchet opened Dunce's freed chest plates and started to examine them. He growled when he noticed internal damage that looked serious.

"What's wrong Ratchet?" Arcee asked him.

"The Decepticons, they..." Ratchet started to curse but stopped himself as he took a closer look at the internal injuries. While some were new, they could not have been inflicted during Dunce's stay at the Decepticon base. The healing that had already began on the new ones told Ratchet that the most recent of these injuries was incurred on Earth but _before_ Dunce was captured. "By the Allspark. Dunce is injured, but there is no way that the Decepticons did this."

"But, that would mean..." Arcee started.

The medic nodded before saying, "Yes, that means that Dunce is getting attacked here, and on Cybertron, by beings that are not Decepticon. They may be Autobot, but there are so many Cybertronians out there, and quite a few here, that it is hard to say for certain that it was an Autobot." Though, Ratchet was now even more suspicious of Sentinel's fear of Dunce not seeing him first. Something was going on, and Ratchet as going to find out. But, he would have to work with Dunce slowly. Dunce seemed very hesitant when speaking about certain things and, after his experience with the Decepticons, Dunce was going to be even more hesitant.

* * *

**Jazz: Well Authoress, I guess you have done good.**

**Authoress: Oh, more than you know.**

**Jazz: *confused* What do you mean?**

**Prowl: *walks in painted G1 colors* This is what she means.**

**Jazz: *falls to floor laughing aft off***

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**AN: And here is the next chapter. Lookie! I did a double update for you all. Aren't I nice? Well, this chapter was very entertaining to do and I can't wait for the next one. Seems like Dunce is getting more bots wondering about his condition. Wonder when that is going to be revealed? Also, Ratchet told of Sentinel! *has a party* I loved that part. Sentinel is a pain in the aft and it was good to see him put in his place by Ratchet. Also, Dunce is back with the bots!...for now. Wonder how long it will last? Until next chapter (which will hopefully be out soon) please drop a review in. I like them a lot. They give me inspiration to write. =)**


	8. Back Again

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

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**Authoress: Hey, look what I found.**

**Megatron: What?  
**

**Authoress: *smiles* HIGH GRADE! *runs off***

**Megatron: Frag it! *chases after Authoress* *gets on comm link* Attention all units; Authoress has the high grade again. Repeat, she has high grade!**

* * *

Ch. 8: Back Again

I groaned as my systems came online. What had happened? My joints were sore in places that I didn't even know existed...and thanks to all the times that I had fixed myself, I knew most of them. As my processor finally caught up with me, though, I panicked. I remembered escaping from the Decepticons and making it outside in the rain. The first time I fell, I was really only unsteady and could continue onward. But, just as I saw some lights, I slipped and fell backwards before I hit my helm hard and all was darkness. Scrap the 'Cons had found me. I was so doomed.

Bolting up and onlining my optics, I felt confused to find myself in a surprisingly orange room. What was going on? Either the Decepticons had a very weird choice of color style for their med bay or,

"Easy there Dunce. You suffered some damage and you need to relax." Ratchet said, who I hadn't noticed until then was next to me.

Nodding, I slowly laid back down and calmed my intakes. Once they were calm, I glanced at Ratchet. "How long was I out?"

"You've been out about ever since we found you, which makes it at least four cycles now." Ratchet informed me before saying, "None of your damage was too serious but you are going to have to spend the rest of this solar cycle in here so I can make sure that nothing happens. Your temperature had been lower than it should have been when we brought you back and I just want to make sure you are really okay before letting you out."

Slowly, I nodded and said, "You're the doc." But, I felt worry. I really didn't want to have to answer to Sentinel yet but, if he came in here, then I wouldn't have anywhere to go to avoid him. And, unfortunately, I felt a large beat-down in my future. If Sentinel had just hit me for avoiding Megatron in battle, then what would he do when he saw that I wasn't injured from my time with them and I hadn't fought back.

Ratchet must have seen something that I did because he said, "The only ones allowed in here until I release you are Arcee and myself."

Relief flooded through me and I felt myself relax before saying, "Thanks Ratchet."

He nodded before saying, "I will be leaving you now. If you feel the need to have some company or talk, just call on the comm link."

I nodded and watched as Ratchet left the room. Once he was gone, I leaned my helm back and thought. Before I could stop them, my thoughts went to my stay with the Decepticons. Why had they treated me so nice? It didn't make sense. The Autobots had always told me that the Decepticons were the evil ones and that they were the protectors. But, the funny thing was, I felt like it was the exact _opposite_ right now. I had felt more safe in the Decepticon holding cell than I did right now. It wasn't right. Something had to be wrong with me. I wasn't supposed to think like this. Being an Autobot was what I was raised to be. I had to have something wrong with me.

Or did I? All of the talks that I had with Random had me thinking. The Autobots didn't really have any strange bots with them, like Blitzwing. Now that I thought about it, the Decepticons also seemed more...upbeat than the Autobots. Perceptor even took out his emotional pathways for goodness sake. What sort of beings would give up their emotions for a blasted war?

Shaking my helm, I leaned back before letting out a sigh. These thoughts were so confusing. The Autobots might have some not so nice bots, but the Decepticons weren't perfect either. Actually, the 'Cons were worse. All of the stories that I had heard from the Autobots about the Decepticons filled my helm and I let out a groan. Why was I so conflicted about this? It wasn't fair. Right then, all I wanted to do was relax. When I had escaped from the Decepticons, I had hoped that being back with the Autobots would make me automatically go back to the way I was before, without all of these troubling thoughts pounding in my helm. But, being here was just giving me more time to think about all of the things that the Decepticons said and did.

The door to the med bay opening had me looking up and, for a nano-click, I thought that it was Sentinel and so I tensed up. But, I relaxed when I saw Arcee with a cube of energon in her servos.

"Here is a cube of energon for you Dunce." Arcee stated as she handed me the cube.

Nodding in thanks, I took the cube before saying, "Thank you." I then glanced around before I asked a question. "Arcee, what do you think about Optimus' team?"

Arcee stopped at my question and looked at me before saying, "They are some of the best Autobots that I know. They may not all be strong or fast, but they have courage and honor and, above all else, loyalty to those they care about." She then raised an optic ridge at me. "Why do you ask?"

Shaking my helm, I let off a smile and said, "No special reason. Just wondered what they were like, since I haven't interacted with them too much. Thank you." Nodding, Arcee turned before she walked out of the room, leaving me alone with my thoughts again.

My reason for asking Arcee about the Autobots here on Earth was because I was hoping that she wouldn't have much to say. But, of course, she did...and that made my thoughts harder. Both sides seemed to have both good and not so good bots and I just didn't know what to believe at the moment. Everything that I knew was being challenged and being at the Autobot base was not helping.

But, where else could I go to actually think? I didn't know anywhere on Earth and I just wanted to be somewhere that I felt safe, where I felt secure. But, as I tried to think, no location seemed to come up. Each one that I thought of had the possibility of Sentinel coming by and interrupting me and I could not have that. Plus, I doubted that Ratchet would let me stay in the med bay for however long it took me to think.

"I have to go back." I whispered to myself in sudden realization, sitting up and staring at the med bay door as I did. It had hit me just then that the only place that I had felt safe and secure was at the _Decepticon_ base. Why; I had no idea. But, while I had been there, I had felt more at home than I ever had on Cybertron...besides before I went to boot camp. So, pretty much, it was the most that I had felt at home since officially joining the Autobots. Did that mean something?

Shaking my helm, I sat up and swung my pedes over the side of the berth before activating my comm link. "Hey Ratchet,"

"_Yes Dunce?"_ Ratchet responded almost immediately.

Sighing, I said, "I need to get out of here and get some fresh air. Could I go out?"

Silence followed my request for a click before Ratchet said, "_You will take another bot with you. I don't want something to go wrong."_

I nodded to myself and knew exactly what bot I would take with. "Hey Ratchet, can you see if Jazz is around?"

**Megatron's 3rd P.O.V.**

Megatron sighed as he paced in the throne room. He was waiting for the other Decepticons to arrive so they could discuss their plans on retrieving Dunce. The leader was sure that the Autobots would be on high alert around Dunce for awhile and that getting Dunce would be hard at this time, but he didn't have a choice. While he needed Dunce to think about what they told him, Megatron also knew that Dunce might become shut away if he thought for too long, which would make it virtually impossible to bring Dunce back. So, they had to get him.

"Statement: Megatron stressed."

And again, he had forgotten about Soundwave. The now faceplate-less mech and his now five symbiots had arrived at the base the same day that they had discovered Dunce's disappearance. In the solar cycles since, Megatron had learned a lot about the new group.

The twins were interesting. The two human sized bots had brought a lot of...pranks, to their team. Rumble,a small red and black bot, and Frenzy, his blue twin, had at least pulled off six pranks in the few cycles they had been there. Then, there was Ravage, a black feline symbiot who was an excellent spy. Next, there were the two flying symbiots; the bird Laserbeak and the bat Ratbat. Megatron had learned rather quickly that they were excellent at being unseen even when they were in the same room as you. Of course, he was starting to learn how to see them, but that was still a work in progress.

Finally, there was there boss. Soundwave had changed much from the last time Megatron had seen him. The mech had upgraded himself from a large land based vehicle mode to that of a slim and accurate aerial mode. But, his physical appearance hadn't been the only thing to change. The mech's processor power seemed to have increased exponentially and Soundwave had said that he was very efficient at hacking. The Decepticon leader still wanted to test just how good Soundwave was at this new skill. Finally, the mech's fighting skills was now on par and, maybe, even greater than his own. His defeat at Autobot servos had caused him to train harder than ever before and now Megatron wasn't sure that there were too many that could challenge the mech fairly.

Back to what Soundwave just said though. "Somewhat Soundwave. I'm just not sure if this plan will succeed like I hope it will. We could end up scaring Dunce to the point where he freezes up and won't talk anymore. I just don't want to fail."

Silence drifted between the two mechs for a while before Soundwave finally responded. "Question: Do you believe plan will work?"

Megatron was taken aback by his statement but nodded before saying, "Of course I do."

"Statement: Then do not doubt."

While Soundwave was a mech of little words, Megatron realized that the mech didn't need many words to get his point across. Soundwave was right. If the leader of the Decepticons believed that his plan was going to work, then he shouldn't be wasting time by doubting it. "Soundwave, call the others to the throne room." Soundwave nodded slowly before sending out the call.

**Jazz's 3rd P.O.V.**

Jazz had been shocked when Dunce had asked him to go on a walk with him. Well, that was until Ratchet said that Dunce had to take a bot with him, under medical orders. The white ninja had figured that Dunce would want to have some alone time to think and that he now wanted to go outside to see if fresh air would help. Well, Jazz vowed that he would try and let Dunce have time to think. But, while he would try, the cyber-ninja's own questions about Dunce were rising in his helm. After his talk with Plena Teo, Jazz was more curious about Dunce. The mech had only fought once, and he hadn't even kept up the fight once the party that he was protecting escaped.

Dunce just made no sense to Jazz. He was one of the taller Autobots, and the tallest on this planet, and yet he let everybot just walk all over him. The mech didn't react to anything mean done to him. It was inspiring and, yet, it made Jazz feel sorry for Dunce. The mech just wouldn't fight.

Walking into the warehouse, Jazz was relieved to see that only Ratchet and Arcee were in there. He wasn't sure how well Dunce would react to seeing Sentinel so soon after his escape from the Decepticons. "Hey doc, where's Dunce?"

Ratchet jabbed a thumb to med bay before saying, "Still in med bay. He didn't want to come out until you got here." Said medic then seemed to get on his comm link because he said, "Dunce, Jazz is here for your walk."

It was almost immediately afterwords that the doors to med bay opened and Dunce walked out. While the doc had done a great job in fixing Dunce up, there was nothing that Ratchet could do to fix Dunce's nervousness as he stepped out. If jazz had to guess, he would say that Dunce was nervous that Sentinel might come in at any click. Actually...the Prime could so Jazz walked up to Dunce and said, "So, you ready to go for a walk?"

Dunce nodded toward him and let off a small smile before saying, "Sure Jazz. Let's get going."

Thanks to all of his training, Jazz could see that, while Dunce was with him in the bot, the mech was not with him in the processor. But, this walk was for Dunce to think...most likely. The mech probably needed to have some fresh air circulating through his systems because he probably didn't get much with the Decepticons or when he had escaped during that storm.

So, the two of them set off. Since he was assuming that Dunce wanted to think, Jazz started to go through his processor of places where the mech could relax. There were quite a few around and Jazz knew it would take some time for him to pick out the perfect place.

"Jazz,"

Jazz had not been expecting Dunce to start the conversation so it took him a few nano-clicks to respond. "Yeah Dunce?"

Dunce seemed to be a bit nervous before he asked, "How can thing in life be so simple until they are challenged?"

For once, the cyber ninja had no idea what Dunce was getting at. But, he answered the question for his friend anyways. "Well, they are only simple because they haven't been challenged. But, once things, ideas, are challenged, you gain a better understanding of them and can learn more from the experience."

If Jazz was hoping that Dunce would gain an enlightened look from his response, then he would have been disappointed. Instead, the focused look on Dunce's faceplates deepened as the young mech nodded and said, "Thanks Jazz."

The silence then returned to their walk and Jazz took the opportunity to think about Dunce's question more. What did he mean? What sort of thoughts were being challenged so much that Dunce would ask him about it? Something had happened while Dunce was at the Decepticon base that was now causing Dunce this thinking, that much Jazz could tell. But, for the spark in him, he had no idea what it was.

But, what he did figure out was where they could sit and relax. "Hey Dunce, there's this awesome stream that has a waterfall at the end that we can go sit by just a little walk that way. Want to go?"

Dunce seemed startled by Jazz saying that and he stared in thought for a click before nodding and smiling. "That sounds great Jazz. Let's get going."

Nodding, Jazz led the way. But, as he did, his own thoughts returned. But, instead of being focused directly on Dunce, they were focused on Dunce's creators. Plena Teo had seemed to be hesitant about talk about the two when they had talked. Maybe it was because they were on a comm channel and the bot didn't want eavesdroppers. Maybe it was because there was something about Dunce's creators that Plena Teo wasn't wanting most of the Autobot faction to know about. But, if that was the case, what could that possibly be? They had seemed like ordinary bots from the picture he had seen and neutrals were generally nice bots.

Jazz's thoughts left his helm as they arrived at the stream, the crest of the waterfall in optic sight and not that far ahead. Sitting down by the edge of the stream, Jazz motioned to the area next to him before saying, "Take a seat Dunce."

The nervous mech nodded before sitting down next to him. Well, almost sitting down. The mech made it about half way before he tensed.

"What's wrong Dunce?" Jazz asked his friend as Dunce started to slowly stand up. Of course, Jazz stood up with him.

Dunce made a silencing motion with his servo before saying, "Listen."

Jazz did and, after a moment of focusing, he glanced up just as a transformation sequence could be heard. It didn't take long for Megatron and a strange, faceless mech, to land in front of them. "Hello Autobots."

The white cyber ninja wasted no time in attacking Megatron. But, before he could reach the leader, the strange faceless mech stepped in his way and Jazz had no choice but to face him.

**Dunce's 1st P.O.V.**

This couldn't be happening. Fate had to hate me. While I knew I needed to go back to the 'Cons to think about all of this, I didn't think it would happen this soon, and like this. As I dodged Megatron's blows, I took a quick glance at Jazz with the faceless 'Con and wondered who he was.

Of course, I didn't have much time to think as I dodged a blow that almost hit me.

"You seem to be recovering nicely from your walk in the rain." Megatron commented as we continued our little dance, him striking and me dodging.

I felt nervous to answer, but I did. "Why are you here? I escaped and you could have recaptured me if you would have gone out. Why now?"

A amused look played onto Megatron's faceplates that made me curious as he said, "The same reason as last time Dunce. I told you that you interest me. You are different from any Autobot that I have faced." I then dodged a strike from him before he said, "Why I waited? Well, I figured you would need time away from the Decepticons to think about everything that we have told you."

I furrowed my optic ridges as we continued. If he had let me stay here to think and now he was back, that could only mean one thing. "You're not here for just a fight, are you?" Of course, as I asked this, I made my way closer to where Jazz had last been. While I needed to go back to the Decepticons, this was just a little too soon for my taste. I had barely just woke up at the Autobot base and now they were trying to bring me back already. I wasn't sure if I could.

Megatron looked at me with a confirming look nodding and saying, "You are right. I wish for you to return to the Decepticon base. It can be under your own power or it will be like last time."

When he said that, I knew that this fight was most likely going to lead to either Jazz or I being captured and, while I really didn't want to go back yet, I was _not _going to allow one of my few friends to take the fall for me because I knew that Megatron was after me.

Right before I could say anything, I heard a yelp from my right and saw that Jazz was nowhere to be seen and the faceless mech was at the edge of the cliff by the waterfall. "Jazz!" I yelled before sprinting over.

When I got to the edge, the faceless mech did not move as I knelt and saw Jazz hanging onto a rock that jutted out of the waterfall. While Jazz was a good cyber-ninja, Dunce was sure that the mech would not be able to get out of that without help.

"Dunce," I turned to Megatron as he said that. I jumped as I saw he was in arms reach from me. When did he get so close? "I have a proposition for you. If you come with me peaceful, and swear to never try to escape or leave if a rescue attempt is made, then I will have Soundwave save your friend down there." He then reached a servo out to me.

There it was, the ultimatum. But, since I had already decided before Jazz fell down the waterfall, my processor was made up. "Dunce don't do it!" I heard Jazz yell.

But, I was not going to listen. Glancing up at Megatron, still kneeling on the ground and my chassis facing the edge, I nodded and said, "Deal." Then, taking Megatron's servo with my right, I stood up, putting my left blade away. I placed my arms at my side, and had to hold back a shiver as I felt Megatron's arms wrap around me from behind.

As soon as he did, Megatron pushed off of the ground and, for the first few nano-clicks, I offlined my optics from the rush. But, once we stopped accelerating, I glanced down and was relieved that Megatron had kept his word as Soundwave was now setting Jazz on the firm ground. Good, at least Megatron kept his part of the deal. Letting out a sigh, though, I realized that, once again, I was back with those that I should consider an enemy. The thing was though;

I didn't mind.

**Megatron's 3rd P.O.V.**

Dunce had stayed silent during the entire flight back and that worried Megatron. Had he made the wrong decision in taking Dunce so soon? Everything seemed to have gone even better than he had hoped with his plan. The cyber-ninja Jazz had once again been with Dunce so it would give him alone time with Dunce once again.

But, before he could take Dunce, fate had given him a treat. Jazz had been thrown into the rive and could not stop from falling over the waterfall. Thankfully, the mech had grabbed a stone that jutted out but Megatron knew that, even as a cyber-ninja, the mech's grip would not hold. So, he had given Dunce a choice and, like he figured, Dunce had agreed to his terms and came with him to save Dunce.

Right now, Megatron was walking Dunce to his new room. Since Megatron was sure that the mech would not break his promise, Megatron figured that he could give the mech an actual sleeping quarter instead of the holding cell. When the arrived, Megatron smiled slightly at the surprised look on Dunce's faceplate. "I'm not staying in the holding cell?" Dunce asked him with surprise.

Shaking his helm, Megatron said, "There is no need. I trust your word. Don't make me regret this Dunce. I want to show you that the Decepticons are not as evil as the Autobots wish for you to think. There is always more to a story than the words of one side. Each side will tell you their version, and it is up to you to sort out what they say." He then opened the door. "You will have free reign of the base while you are here and if you have a question, you merely need to ask one of us and we will assist you."

Dunce just stood there for a nano-click, which made Megatron curious as to what was going through the young mech's processor, before the Autobot turned to him. "Megatron, I need time alone. Could you just leave me to think for a while?"

Nodding, Megatron said, "Of course. Please, relax."

The leader then watched as Dunce walked inside before closing the door. But, instead of leaving, Megatron stood their for a click as his thoughts came to him. Dunce seemed more accepting than the leader thought he would, even under the normal circumstances. Their last holding of Dunce must have struck a note with the mech. During their fight, Megatron had seen the look of deep thought in Dunce's faceplates. Maybe that was why he was out in the first place. Megatron had been surprised to see that Dunce was already out and walking. He had been sure that the Autobots would have kept him under lock and key. Maybe he was thinking about what they had said?

"Megatron,"

Megatron turned at the voice of his second in command and walked up to Starscream before saying, "Yes?"

Starscream motioned to Dunce's room before asking, "How is he doing?"

"Much better than I thought. I think that we must have struck a chord with him during the last time he was here because he seemed much less nervous around me than before. Of course, it is still there but he seems like he is accepting his new stay here. However, we will see what tomorrow brings." Megatron answered.

A smirk played on the second in command's faceplate before saying, "So, are you going to race Blitzwing to see him?"

Shrugging, Megatron smirked. "It won't be a race if I win." He then walked with Starscream toward the throne room. Things might be looking up and, maybe, the gamble that he had taken with this was going to work out.

* * *

**Authoress: *sings* Drink up me hearties yo ho! *takes swig of high grade***

**Frenzy: Hey, aren't we going to take that away from her?**

**Lockdown: Nope. **

**Rumble: Why?**

**Megatron: She gets violent when it is taken away. It is better to just let her finish it when she is this far gone.**

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**AN: And here is another chapter everyone! I hope you all liked it. Guess Dunce's freedom wasn't as long as we thought it was going to be? Also, seems like Dunce is very confused about everything that is happening and the poor mech just wants answers. Maybe I'll give them to him...in time. **

**TO ALL WHO READ ANY OF MY STORIES: I will be on vacation this coming week and so updates will be scarce, if at all. But, I will be typing. I will be back around next Friday night and I will hopefully have a few updates for you all. Until then though, please drop a review for me. Even to say hi! =)**


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